The Story of Tamesis Potter
by au revoir sim1
Summary: Lily and James only had one child, right? Wrong. This is the story of Tamesis Roberts, the long lost sister of Harry Potter. The only problem? She has no idea she's a witch.
1. Chapter 1

_**A/N: Hey guys! I know this is incredibly stupid of me, considering I can barely update my one story as it is, but I've decided to start a new fic. Not much else to say really. Because this story is pretty AU I feel as though I have to explain a few things.**_

_**1. In this story, instead of Sirius being blamed for killing all those muggles it was Remus. Therefore, he can walk around outside without being ambushed or whatever. **_

_**2. Sirius is only going to be 30. I know there are going to be a ton of super technical people out there are going to be like, "But if Sirius is 30, Lily had to have been a kid when she got pregnant!" I realize that, but honestly I'm just asking you guys to accept that this is AU and sort of bear with me on this one.**_

_**3. Just one last tiny thing; this is going to take place during book five. That's**_ _**about it really. Enjoy! **_

_**4. I forgot to say I don't own Harry Potter so here it is; I don't own Harry Potter.**_

_**-aurevoirsim1**_

"No, no please, not them! Not my children!"

"I'm warning you for the last time girl, step aside!"

"No, please, please spare them!"

"Avada Kedavra!"

Lily Potter's body slumped to the ground as Voldemort turned to face the children, a green light erupting from his wand-

Tamesis Roberts sat up, gasping for breath, cold sweat forming on her forehead. _It's a dream_, she reminded herself gently. _Just a dream._ Closing her eyes, she breathed in slowly and counted to ten. Finally feeling her heart slow to its normal rhythm, she got up off the bed, being careful not to wake up her roommates, and walked over to bathroom. Glancing at her watch she groaned. _6:00 am._ Well there was no way she was going back to sleep now.

Splashing her face with cold water Tamesis slowly felt the hot stuffy feeling fading away. Gently patting her face down with a towel she left the bathroom and headed downstairs. This was the second time this week that she had had 'the nightmare.' The one featuring the mysterious red headed woman who looked so much like her and who was willing to give up her own life just so Tamesis could live. Just thinking of the red haired woman Tamesis wanted to cry. She'd been having the nightmare for as long as she could remember, and by now felt a sort of kinship with the woman.

Finally reaching the kitchen Tamesis pulled out a bowl, cereal, milk, and sat down at the familiar oak table where she had eaten breakfast for the past 14 years, still mulling over the dream. It wasn't always the same. Sometimes there was a raven-haired man trying to save the red haired woman. _Lily_, he called her. But no matter what, there was always that awful murderer with the cold, cruel, laugh.

Oftentimes she liked to pretend that Lily was her mother. And that she and the raven-haired man would one day come to save her from this awful dreary life and take her to a place where she was loved. It sounded very _Annie_-esque, but for a girl who had spent her entire life in an orphanage, she had every right to dream.

Dropped there as an infant of just one year, with nothing but the blanket wrapped around her and the paper tag simply reading '_Tamesis.'_ The orphanage had accepted of course. What choice did they really have? They couldn't turn her away. Mostly they just expected her to be adopted right away. What they hadn't counted on, though, were the . . . strange happenings that occurred around her.

According to Mrs. Mortimer, just a few weeks after arriving, whenever the staff tried to take away her blanket for the wash, it would mysteriously arrive back on her bed minutes later. At the age of two, in the middle of the winter, standing in the middle of the snow surrounding her was a circle of flowers. At the age of six, after falling down two flights of stairs she was completely fine. Little things like that here and there occurred over the year. When the potential parents found out . . . well let's just say that they weren't too keen on adopting.

That's why, at the age of fifteen, Tamesis was still at the orphanage. She honestly didn't care about finding a family anymore. By now, Tam was just waiting until she turned 18 so she could get out and finally start her life.

Finally finishing her cereal, Tamesis walked over to the sink and began washing out her bowl. For years the orphanage had been talking of getting a dishwasher, but honestly that's all it was. Talk. For now, the responsibility of dishes was put on the eldest children; namely, Tamesis.

The sound of footsteps approaching caused Tam to temporarily halt in her drying of the bowl. Turning around, she groaned. In the doorway stood Jimmy Jones. He was a tall, lanky boy, with the appearance of someone who had grown in height to quickly for the rest of his features to catch up. He was also perhaps, at sixteen, the only other person who had been at the orphanage as long as she had. The only problem was he was also a total jerk.

"Had another nightmare Thames? I should think that you would have outgrown them by now. Then again, maybe not. After all, everyone knows you're crazy." Ah, another lovely thing about Jimmy. He insisted on calling her Thames.

"Actually Jimmy, I had the nightmare a few seconds ago. You see, I was eating a perfectly lovely breakfast when a humongous jerk face came in and ruined it." Tam finished the sentence with her patented sugary sweet smile. Ah, sarcasm. It could really work wonders.

"You know, I've been having a problem with nightmares myself, Thames. You see, this nightmare started 14 years ago when I first set eyes on your ugly mug."

"Really Jimmy? It's six thirty in the morning on a Saturday. Don't even start with me 'cause I'm telling you now, I'm not going to put up with it."

Jimmy smirked slightly as he put a filled a pot with water and put it on the fire to boil.

"What's the matter Thames? Did I hit a nerve?"

"Are you deaf Jimmy? Or just stupid? I said I'm not in the mood."

Jimmy who was now smiling so widely he could give the Cheshire Cat a run for his money, took some eggs out of the fridge and cracked them into the water, which had now come to a boil.

"It's not my fault that you're certifiably insane Thames. We can all here you screaming in your sleep every night." He adopted a high falsetto. "Oh no, oh no, please don't kill her! Not again! Please don't!" He erupted into laughter. "You're a real piece of work you know that?"

Tamesis felt her face grow hot and rage coiling in her stomach. Clenching the bowl more tightly she scrubbed even harder, even though it had dried ages ago. Trying to tune out Jimmy's taunts, she focused on breathing deeply in and out, calming herself down. She couldn't let herself get too angry. Bad things happened when she was angry.

"I really did hit a nerve, didn't I Thames? Who's Lily huh? That's right, I heard you this morning. 'Oh no, please don't hurt Lily this time.' Is Lily your mum? Is she as much of a freak show as you are?"

_Just breathe_, Tam reminded herself. She wouldn't give Jimmy the satisfaction of seeing her truly losing it.

Jimmy was like a dog. He could smell her anger. He knew she was _so_ close to going over the edge of calm.

"I wish that murderer from your dreams would show up and off you. He'd be doing us all a favor."

With that last sentence slammed down the bowl and turned around to face her tormentor, ready to dish out some torment of her own. But she couldn't.

Tamesis watched in horror as the boiling water flew out of the pot seemingly of its own accord onto Jimmy's hand. The effects were instantaneous.

"Aaarrrrgggggg! My hand! My hand! Help me! Somebody please, help me!"

"I thought better of you Ms. Roberts! Honestly, attacking a fellow peer. You are in big trouble young lady. You'll be lucky if the law doesn't get involved. Honestly, what were you thinking? I know that you have been jealous of Mr. Jones, but honestly that is no reason to _burn him_! You, little Madame, are on lockdown. You are to stay in the room of isolation until you are told to leave. You will have your meals brought to you. You have also lost all of your privileges. If you want them back you will have to earn them the same way you did in the first place."

Tamesis suppressed a groan. It had taken her _years_ to earn those privileges. There was no way she was getting them back any time soon.

"But Mrs. Mortimer, that's not fair! I've been trying to tell you that I had nothing to do with Jimmy's burns. I promise. If you'd just listen-"

"Do you expect me to believe that the water just flew out of the pan onto Mr. Jones' hand severely scalding it? No! I've heard enough from you! Up to the isolation room, _now!_ And I don't want to hear another peep out of you, understand? This is the end for you, young lady. You're never going to be adopted. I'll make sure of it myself. A freak like you is never going to have a happy ending."

Tamesis stomped up the stairs wasn't fair! Why should she have to pay for something that was completely beyond her control! That combined with the sleep deprivation she had been dealing with for months now, made it that as soon as she reached the isolation room she collapsed on the single, small bed and burst into tears.

Mrs. Mortimer had been having a tough day. As if it wasn't bad enough already that she was woken up at six thirty to deal with a burned child, then she had to discipline that little brat, Roberts. It wasn't fair. She was getting old, she wasn't supposed to be with children her whole life. Now she had to fill out a report on the burned child, Jimmy Jones. Glancing down at the sheet she sighed. So much for her lovely Saturday morning.

Just as she was about to finish the paperwork she heard a light knock at the door. Who would come here at such an hour? She hoped it wasn't the police. That would be just what she needed after this awful morning. It would really be the icing on the cake.

Being sure to take her time, she stood up and walked slowly to the door, opening it to reveal an old man with a long silver beard, and a much younger man, in his thirties perhaps, with shoulder length black hair.

"Hello." The old man smiled pleasantly. "I hope we haven't woken you up."

Mrs. Mortimer sighed wearily. "No, no I've been up for quite a while. What can I do for you?"

"Well, my name is Professor Dumbledore. My colleague and I come from a special school called Hogwarts where we think one of your orphans would really benefit going to."

"Which one?"

"I believe her name is Tamesis. Tamesis Roberts."

_**A/N: I hope you liked it. Obviously this chapter isn't that interesting, I was just sort of trying to introduce the main character. Please review. I love hearing your feedback. Not only do they help me to write better, I also just love getting them. **_

_**-aurevoirsim1**_


	2. Chapter 2

_**A/N: Honestly guys I'm not trying to be whiny and annoying so I'm going to make this quick. I know that people are reading this story. I can see that people are reading this story. And I thank you for that. But seriously, all I'm asking for is one review. The reason I post stuff on here is not just because I love to write. It's also because I actually want to hear what people have to say about my writing. I just wanted to let you know that if I don't start getting reviews I'm just going to stop posting for a while. Once again I'm really sorry if I'm sounding whiny or bitchy or whatever. With all that said, here's the next chapter. Enjoy!**_

Tamesis pressed her face into the bedspread, inhaling deeply. It smelt of mothballs and turpentine. Not exactly a pleasant aroma. She had stopped crying hours ago, almost immediately after she had started. Crying was weakness, and she couldn't afford to show any weakness at this point.

Rolling over, she finally got off the bed and walked over the only piece of 'furniture' in the room; an old smudged up mirror. Glancing at her reflection Tamesis sighed. She looked awful to say the least. Her large hazel eyes were swollen and blood-shot and had big dark circles underneath them. Her face was drawn and pale, and even her normally dark red hair seemed more of a lackluster auburn. Sighing, Tam walked back over to the bed. That was one thing about the room of isolation. You could lose your mind in there for want of something to do.

Leaning back on the bed she stared up at the ceiling and started her favorite isolation room pastime; counting the number of paint chips on the ceiling.

She had just counted the one hundredth chip when she was interrupted by a loud knock on the door.

"You better be presentable, you have visitors!" Mrs. Mortimer's voice was shrill and piercing. Tam winced.

If Mrs. Mortimer had cared whether Tamesis was presentable or not, she didn't show it. Not two seconds after shouting her warning the door opened and in barged Mortimer followed by two men. The first was an old man, with half moon glasses and an incredibly long silvery beard. The second man was younger, in his thirties perhaps, with slightly wavy black hair that reached his shoulders and striking silver eyes.

Mrs. Mortimer glanced down at her, contempt in her eyes. It was clear the woman still didn't believe that she hadn't burned Jimmy. "These two men would like to speak with you about something. Although you clearly don't deserve to break your isolation so soon, they have assured me that it is of the upmost importance." She said the last word like it was dirty somehow.

The older man stepped forward, holding out his hand for her to shake. Hesitantly, Tamesis took it. "Hello. I am Professor Dumbledore of the school Hogwarts, and this is my colleague, Mr. Black. As Mrs. Mortimer said, we do wish to speak with you about something."

Ah. Tamesis knew now what this was about. Mrs. Mortimer had finally called up an institute. She had finally grown tired of dealing with her 'craziness' and had finally decided to hand her off to someone else so they could deal with her. Well it wasn't going to happen.

"I think I already know what you're here to talk to me about 'Professor Dumbledore'."

"You . . . you do?" Professor Dumbledore looked taken aback. Honestly, how stupid did this Dumbledore man think she was?

"You shouldn't act so surprised. No offence, but it's kind of obvious. Mrs. Mortimer finally grew tired of dealing with me. You're probably from some institute to come take me away so you can 'fix me.'" At this, the Dumbledore man visibly relaxed and even gained a slight twinkle in his eyes. Did he find it funny?

The Mr. Black person didn't even try to hide his mirth. Up until then he had been standing in the corner stoically with a very serious expression on his face. The moment Tam said the word 'institute' he bent back his head and let out a bark of a laugh. The affect was instantaneous. Is formerly serious face was now filled with mirth, and made him look much younger.

"That isn't exactly what we came here to talk to you about Ms. Roberts, but I must say, you are certainly very imaginative with your hypotheses." Dumbledore was definitely smiling now. Turning to Mrs. Mortimer his smile turned prompting. It was apparent to everyone but Mortimer herself that she was no longer wanted in the room. For the first time Black spoke up.

"When we say we want to talk to Ms. Roberts we mean we want to talk to her alone. Which means you have to leave."

Tam had to hand it him, this Mr. Black had guts. No one had yet spoken to Mortimer like that and lived to tell the tale.

Mrs. Mortimer glared at first Mr. Black, then Tam, and stomped out of the room in a huff. Walking over to the door, Mr. Black shut the door and then proceeded to take out a wand pointing it at the door and muttering something that sounded like, "Alacazam!"

Dumbledore smiled again. "Now that that little issue's been sorted out, let's get down to business. As I said earlier, my name is Professor Dumbledore, and I am the headmaster of a school called Hogwarts."

Hogwarts? What was this Dumbledore guy playing at? Dumbledore must've seen the confusion on her face, because once again he smiled gently at her.

"The thing is Ms. Jones, Hogwarts isn't exactly a normal school. It's a school for very . . . let's just say gifted individuals. Let me ask you Ms. Roberts, have you ever noticed . . . strange things seem to happen around you?"

How could he have known? Had Mrs. Mortimer told him? Unable to form a coherent reply she nodded slightly.

"What I'm trying to say is . . . well, those things happen for a reason Ms. Roberts. And that reason is . . . there's no other way to put this really. You're a witch."

"Excuse me?" Tam found herself stifling laughter. Maybe it was some kind of test. Tell the crazy girl she's a witch to see if she's actually crazy or not. Well she wasn't falling for it.

"Look, I'm sorry, but I'm not about to listen to some crazy old man who starts saying I'm a witch with magic powers. How crazy do you think I am?"

Dumbledore didn't smile, but there was a certain twinkle in his eyes. "I'm sorry you feel that way. You give me no choice really."

Reaching into his pocket, Dumbledore pulled out a long wooden stick similar to the one Mr. Black had used on the door. Pointing it at the mirror, he muttered something and Tamesis watched in amazement as before her eyes the mirror transformed into a delicate white orchid. Gesturing at it with his wand he gently guided the orchid onto her lap. Picking up the orchid, Tamesis inspected it carefully. She couldn't believe it. This orchid, this orchid that had been a mirror up until ten seconds ago was now, well a real orchid. Glancing up at Dumbledore she raised her eyebrows incredulously.

"Okay, so what's the trick? What's your secret, how did you do that?"

"I assure you Ms. Roberts, that was no trick. It's magic. It's part of what I am, part of what you are. That is why I came here to talk to you. I would like to formally inquire if you would like to come to Hogwarts. You would learn how to harness your magic, to perform spells. You would be in a place where you truly belong. So what do you say? Would you like to join us at Hogwarts?"

Would she? A place where she belonged. A place where she could spend nine months a year that wasn't the orphanage. Was there really any question of what her answer would be?

"Am I really a witch?"

Dumbledore nodded, eyes twinkling slightly.

"And will I really be able to do spells like that and stuff?"

Once again, Dumbledore nodded.

"And will it really help me to go to this Hogwarts school?"

Nod.

"Then I think . . . I want to go."

Dumbledore was smiling outright now. Reaching into his pocket once again he took out an envelope addressed to _Tamesis Roberts, Hidden Meadow Lane, The Orphanage, Room of Isolation. _Taking the envelope, Tam tore it open to find a letter.

Dear Ms. Roberts,

We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Please find enclosed a list of all necessary books and equipment.

Term begins on September 1. We await your owl by no later than July 31.

Yours sincerely,

Minerva McGonagall

Deputy Headmistress

Digging around in the envelope some more Tam found a ticket for something called the Hogwarts Express, and a list of everything she would need. Noticing the items on the list she found herself growing a bit worried. She certainly didn't know of any normal stores that would sell her a wand.

"Um, I'm sorry Mr. Dumbledore sir, but I have no idea where I'm going to get this stuff."

"Don't worry my dear, that is where Mr. Black comes in. He'll be taking you to get all of your things."

Mr. Black, who up until then had just sort of been standing awkwardly in the corner, grinned at her.

"We'll be going to London for this."

Tam grinned back. She hadn't been to London in years. The last time the she had been was on a trip the orphanage provided, that ended in an explosion inside one of the shops. (She had assured Mrs. Mortimer that it wasn't her fault, but the woman wasn't exactly one to listen to reason. There hadn't been another trip since.)

"Cool. When can we leave?"

"Right now if you like."

"Okay."

Dumbledore nodded at them. "I'll be back to check on you before the school year starts Ms. Roberts. Have fun shopping."

With that, Dumbledore disappeared from the room with a loud pop. Glancing around in confusion, Tam turned to Mr. Black.

"Um, Mr. Black, where did he go?"

"He probably apparated back to Hogwarts or something." At her blank look he explained. "Apparating is when you use magic to transport yourself from one place to another. Oh, and please call me Sirius. Mr. Black reminds me of my dad."

"Okay then Sirius."

"Ready to leave, then? Just warning you, when you apparate with another person, it can feel a bit . . . strange. Just be prepared for that."

Tam nodded. Sirius held out his arm.

Taking it Tam closed her eyes tightly, unsure of what would come next. Her heart jumped up in her throat as she felt the sensation of her body being compressed like she was being pushed tightly into a very small bottle. This must be the apparating part. Realizing that it had suddenly gotten a lot louder she opened her eyes. Only to rub them and blink in awe and disbelief. Surrounding her was the strangest alley of shops. All around her were people in flowing black robes and pointed hats. The shops were just as incredible. Owls hooted quietly in a nearby shop marked Eeylops Owl Emporium. In another store, big black cauldrons sat, smoking slightly. There were wand shops and bookshops. Glancing around some more Tam even spotted a Quidditch Supply Store, whatever that meant. Seeing her amazement Sirius smiled at her.

"Welcome, Tamesis, to Diagon Alley."


	3. Chapter 3

_**A/N: Hello Everyone! Really sorry I haven't updated in a while. Don't worry, I haven't given up on the story. I've been in a musical but it just ended, so hopefully I'll have more time to write from now on. I also wanted to give a big shout out to guardians2LM and Sophie Rose for the reviews. They are much appreciated. And now, on with the story. Enjoy!**_

"So, you've got your books, robes, cauldron, potions ingredients, and your wand. Is that everything?" Tamesis nodded.

"I think so."

It had certainly been an . . . interesting experience getting everything. First they had stopped off at some wizarding bank called Gringotts, a facility that was run entirely by tiny, ill-tempered goblins, to collect wizarding money, a strange currency that used bronze, silver, and gold coins called knuts, sickles, and galleons. Next, they had stopped at _Flourish and Blotts_, to pick up all the books she would need, as well as a few ones just for fun such as, **50 Jinxes to Use on Your Friends**, and **101 Different Charms for Every Occasion.** Perhaps the most interesting part of the trip though, was the process of buying her wand. Sirius had taken her to a tiny store simply named _Ollivanders. _

It was an odd, dim shop, run by a strange wizened old man; Mr. Ollivander himself. He had measured almost every inch of her, meanwhile going on and on about how the wand chooses the wizard, or something like that. Whatever. He was strange. Anyway, she had ended up getting an eleven and ¾ inch willow with a phoenix feather core.

Next stop on their list, the apothecary. It had smelled awful, like rotting eggs, mud, and cat food, and sold some of the strangest items. Tiny eyes sat pickling in jars on the shelves, exotic plants and even something slimy and red labeled simply 'Heart of Dragon' and honestly Tam didn't think they were kidding.

After leaving the apothecary, they had sort of wandered around to the main square, which was where they were now, sitting by a quaint little fountain, as Tam grilled Sirius on anything and everything to do with wizardry.

"How does someone become a wizard?"

"You can't become a wizard. You have to be born one."

"Is it, like, hereditary or something? Like do your parents have to be wizards?"

"Not always. Sometimes a witch or wizard can be born into a muggle, (muggles are non magical people by the way,) family, but usually you do have some other witch or wizard in your family.

"Do you think my parents were magical?"

Sirius smiled slightly, and got quite a sad look in his eyes. His whole demeanor changed. Moments ago he had been fun and playful. Now he seemed almost . . . melancholy. There was an almost longing feel to him.

"Yeah. I think . . . I think they probably were." Sirius smiled then, instantly chipper and upbeat once again. "I'll tell you what. It was your birthday a few days ago, right?"

Tam nodded.

"How about we stop off at a pet store and I buy you something. My treat."

"Um, sure. But, ah, Sirius, how did you know it was my birthday? I mean, did you use your special wizard powers or something?"

Sirius laughed full out at this, a rich full barking sound. As he did, his face appeared younger, and the eyes that had earlier seemed so old and sad had a new life to them. Looking at him now, Tamesis could see that Sirius had probably once been very attractive once. He still was it was just . . . there was too much sadness in his face. He looked like a person who had seen too much in too few years.

"No, I don't have the power of occlumency. Some wizards do though. Professor Dumbledore has a bit of a talent for it. Um . . . Dumbledore told me. He found out from the orphanage."

"Oh. Cool. Well, I mean I have my own money, I don't want you to go to any trouble or anything."

"It's no trouble. Come on, I know a place."

Sirius got up and began walking along. Tamesis followed. Finally, near the end of the alley they came across a shop simply labeled, _**PET STORE. **_

__Sirius smiled at her. "This is it." Walking in, Tamesis couldn't help but glance around in amazement. There were the normal pets, like dogs and cats, and then there were owls, strange creatures called fire crabs and something called a blast ended skrewt.

"Now, at Hogwarts they only allow you to have an owl, cat, or toad. Which one would you like?"

Tamesis thought for a moment. "Well . . . definitely not a toad. They give me the wiggins." Sirius gave her a strange look. "Um, Buffy the Vampire Slayer reference. Sorry." Sirius still looked confused. "Ah, it's a muggle TV show."

"So you don't like toads. What about owls or cats?"

"Hmm. Birds are kind of annoying and they smell. Cats are okay I guess. I really wish I could a get a dog though."

Sirius grinned at her. "You like dogs?"

Tamesis smiled fondly. "Oh yeah. I love them. At the orphanage we get stray dogs all the time, so I had to sneak into the kitchens to feed them. Mrs. Mortimer certainly wouldn't. She hates dogs."

Sirius deliberated for a moment. "I'll tell you what; You don't really seem to like owls, cats, or toads. How about we walk around exploring for a bit, and if you see something you like, you can buy it." Tamesis opened her mouth to object. "And don't even say that you have money of your own. This is me giving you a belated birthday gift. You deserve it. Have you ever actually gotten a gift for your birthday?"

Tam thought back. Had she ever gotten anything? She'd been at the orphanage her entire life, and they didn't exactly care about or celebrate birthdays. "Um, no, not really.'

"Exactly. Which is why we should break that tradition now." Handing her a couple of galleons he gently shooed her off in the direction they had just come from, further up the alley. "Let's go."

Following Sirius back up the alley, Tamesis looked around more closely at her surroundings. There were so many different stores! Glancing around, Tam finally found something that caught her eye. Sitting in the window of Madam Malkin's was the most beautiful necklace she had ever seen. It was pretty simple, just a long silver chain, but on it was the most gorgeous charm she had ever seen. Sirius saw her looking.

"Do you want to go in?" Tam nodded. Once inside the store, Sirius began talking to Madam Malkin about the necklace, and Tam browsed. Glancing around, she spotted some gold robes that had her name on them. Heading over for a closer look, she felt herself bump into something tall and solid. Glancing up, Tam found herself looking into a pair of pale gray eyes.

"Oh, my, gosh I am so sorry," Tam rushed to apologize.

"It's quite alright Ms . . . "

"Um, Tamesis, Tamesis Jones."

"Pleasure to meet you Ms. Jones. My name is Draco Malfoy. You know, I think I would remember a face like yours. Do you not go to Hogwarts?"

"Um, I'm starting this year. I used to live in an orphanage."

Draco blanched. "A _muggle _orphanage?"

"Yeah. Is that a problem?"

Draco sneered slightly. "As a matter of fact is sort of is. It means you're a muggle born."

"What's wrong with that? I'm still a witch. It doesn't make you a better wizard just because you have magical parents." Tam was, by now, thoroughly annoyed. This boy seemed just like Jimmy, although to give this Draco boy credit, Jimmy could never achieve this amount of subtle cruelty.

Draco sneered once again, this time more pronounced.

"Do you know what quidditch is?" Tam shook her head.

"What about the four Hogwarts houses?" Once again, Tame shook her head no.

"Do you even know any basic spells?"

"How would I?"

"I think, you have your answer then. I knew how to perform spells by the age of seven." Turning around, he called for someone.

"Father, come on, let's leave. I can't be in the presence of such crassness." Walking over to Draco came a man with the same pale gray eyes, silver blond hair, and cold sneer. They were carbon copies, save the fact that the man had long hair and Draco's was short.

"Come now Draco. We should show . . . pity towards this unfortunate girl. After all it's not her fault that she's completely ignorant."

"Ah, Malfoy. Still spewing your muggle-borns aren't as good a magical born garbage?" Tam turned around to see her savior, Sirius, glaring at the older Malfoy.

Mr. Malfoy nodded at him. "Black."

"I really wouldn't mess with Tamesis if I were you. Someone might injure you."

Sneering, Mr. Malfoy took hold of Draco's shoulder and began to lead him away.

"Like you could actually take me on Black. And why do you care anyway? You've only known this girl for about three hours, correct?" Mr. Malfoy smiled knowingly, before he, and Draco, left the store. Sirius sighed and visibly deflated. Turning to Tamesis he handed her a package wrapped in silver paper.

"Here's that necklace you wanted."

"Thank you. You really didn't have to do that you know."

"I know. But I wanted to."

Tamesis blushed. She couldn't help it. Sirius was just so . . . amazing.

If Sirius noticed her blush, he didn't let on. "You wanna go get some ice cream or something? There's this great little place down the street called Florean's. They've got a great double fudge chip."

Tam nodded. "Okay."

Five minutes later, Sirius and Tamesis sat in a booth at Florean's eating double fudge chip. Looking down at her ice cream Tam felt herself grow melancholy. After this she'd be going back to the orphanage. Back to being hated. It would be awful. Sirius noticed her discomfort.

"What's the matter? I thought you were having fun."

"I'm having fun. I'm having lots of fun it's just . . . after this I have to go back to the orphanage."

Sirius shifted, suddenly nervous.

"Well . . . you don't have to go back there if you don't want to. What I mean is, I have this huge house, lots of people living there and all, some kids your age too, who go to Hogwarts, and I thought maybe you'd like to stay there."

Tam was silent. Leave the orphanage? Never go back to the orphanage ever again? She'd never have to see that jerk Jimmy again. Or Mrs. Mortimer. She'd never have to spend another sleepless night in the room of isolation. Sirius seemed to take her silence as something negative.

"It's okay if you don't want to. I totally understand. I mean, you barely know me. It's okay. I'll take you back to the orphanage and-"

"No, wait. I want to go. I really do. Please don't take me back there."

Sirius grinned. Once again he looked instantly younger. "You really mean that? You want to?"

Tam laughed. "Of course I do! I don't exactly enjoy spending nights in the room of isolation."

Sirius blanched. "They make you sleep in that room?"

Tam nodded. "Yeah. I'm not exactly well liked."

"Don't worry. You won't have to deal with that ever again." Sirius had a fierce look in his eyes. She found herself wondering why exactly a man she'd only known for a few hours felt such a protectiveness towards her.

Finishing up their ice cream Sirius and Tamesis walked out of the alley and onto a busy London street. Turning into a normal alleyway, Tamesis once again took hold of Sirius and found herself in front of the orphanage once more. Sirius turned towards her.

"Why don't you just run in, grab your stuff, and meet me out here." Seeing her hesitation, he laughed. "Don't worry. I'm not going anywhere."

Nodding, Tamesis dashed inside and up the stairs to her room. Grabbing an old trash bag lying in the corner she piled her only possessions, (a few items of clothing and the new necklace) into it. Turning around she was prepared to head downstairs when she caught sight of something. Standing in the doorway was a very pissed off looking Jimmy Jones.

"So Thames, where've you been? I've been looking for you all morning. Wanted to thank you for the burn."

Tamesis began to back up slowly. "Jimmy not now, I've got someone waiting for me outside and I need to g-"

Jimmy smiled as he cut her off. "Oh no. You're not getting away this easily. You see, I'm not really to keen on being left incapacitated by a girl, without thanking her personally." He began walking forward threateningly. Reaching in his pocket he drew out a knife and began brandishing it. As he got closer Tam smelled a familiar scent.

"Have you been drinking?"

"Maybe a little. What's it to you?"

"I warned you Jimmy I'm not in the mood." Walking forward confidently, she kicked Jimmy in the knee. Hard.

"ARGH! You bitch! Who do you think you are?" Lunging forward, he missed her completely and feel flat on his face. Tam used the opportunity to run past him down the stairs, and out the door to Sirius.

He took in her slightly flushed face. "Everything okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Ready to go?" He nodded. Grabbing hold of him once again, they apparated, and she found herself in front of a bunch of townhouse type buildings.

"Which one do you live in?"

"Number 12."

Glancing around, Tam looked for a number 12. There was none. She looked again. Number 11. Number 13. But no 12.

Sirius saw her confusion. "You have to concentrate a bit."

Closing her eyes, Tam began chanting, _Number 12, Number 12_, in her head. Opening her eyes again, Tam glanced at the buildings in front of her. In between number 11 and 13 where minutes ago there had been nothing now stood another house. Number 12.

Sirius smiled at her. "You see it now?" She nodded.

He began walking towards the house, taking out a key from his pocket and opening the door.

Following Sirius, Tam walked into the house, and the unknown. Glancing around she began observing everything. It was an old house, almost Victorian in its design, and all along the walls were pictures of regal looking men and women all glaring. Her heart jumped up in her chest a bit as she realized that their eyes were following her.

"Sirius." She whispered urgently. "Those paintings. They're moving."

"Don't worry. It's just an enchantment. All magical paintings move." Tam nodded, feeling slightly stupid.

Following Sirius down the hallway they finally came to a large sitting room filled with a ton of people. Sitting on the couch were two identical red headed boys, a redheaded girl, and a girl with bushy brown hair. On the floor sat two boys, one of them yet another redhead, the other with messy black hair, round glasses and startlingly green eyes. The redheaded children were all obviously siblings, but the black haired boy and brown haired girl didn't look as though they were related to them in any way. As Tam and Sirius entered the room everyone glanced up, and Tam felt nervousness creeping up on her.

The younger red haired boy on the floor spoke first, rather bluntly. "Who's that?"

Sirius smiled. "Everyone, this is Tamesis. She's going to be staying with us from now on. She'll be starting at Hogwarts this year. She'll be a fifth year."

Getting up from the couch the brown haired girl held out her hand. "Hello Tamesis. My name is Hermione Granger. It's great to meet you."

"Um h-hi." Tam was slightly thrown off by this girl's enthusiasm. Next the younger red headed boy came up to her.

"Um, hi, I'm Ron Weasley."

Before she had a chance to reply to the twins came up to her.

"Hello-"

"We're-"

"Fred-"

"and-"

"George."

"Nice to meet you," they finished together.

The red headed girl went next. "Hi, I'm Ginny. Nice to meet you."

Finally, the black haired boy came up to her. Before he said anything to her however, he did a double take. "Mum?"

"I beg your pardon?"

The boy blushed slightly. "Sorry. I just . . . you look like someone I've seen before is all. I'm Harry by the way."

Tamesis smiled. "Nice to meet you Harry. I'm Tamesis. I guess Sirius already said that."

"Oh hello dear, you must be Tamesis!" Tam turned to see yet another red haired woman standing in the doorway of what appeared to be a kitchen.

"I'm Mrs. Weasley. You must be so tired. Well, let me show you your room."

Taking hold of her arm, Mrs. Weasley proceeded to practically drag Tamesis up some stairs, down a hallway and towards a door.

"Here you are dear. Oh you poor thing, you look half starved. Well, why don't you get settled and then I can make you some dinner." With that, Mrs. Weasley bustled out of the room as quickly as she had come. "Thank you!" Tam called, but she didn't think Mrs. Weasley even heard.

Three hours later, after a very hearty dinner of pot roast and potatoes Tam sat in bed trying to sleep but unable to. Getting up, she headed downstairs to the kitchen for a glass of water. As she got closer to the kitchen she began to hear voices. Stopping right outside the door she pressed her ear to it and listened.

"Why can't we tell him? He's fifteen years old. He deserves to know he has a sister."

"I'm asking you to trust me Sirius, and I don't think it's right to tell Harry at this time."

"You know I always trust you no matter what Dumbledore, and I have the greatest respect for you, but I know Harry. He's already angry and he's not going to take it well if he finds out later on and knows we kept it from him. It's not fair to him! Or Tamesis for that matter! They think they're alone and they're not! We can't keep something like that from them Dumbledore. It's not right!"

"Sirius Harry has too much going on. He can't know that Tamesis is his sister."

"Everyone in the order knows, they should too. You can't do this Dumbledore. You shouldn't have a say in something like this."

Tamesis felt herself grow numb with shock. Opening the door she barged into the kitchen.

"Sirius? What's going on?"

_**A/N: Please Review! Much appreciated.**_


	4. Chapter 4

_**A/N: Thank you to everyone who added this story to favorites, subscribed, and reviewed. I really appreciate it. I also want to give a shout out to guardians2LM. Thank you for giving me the nicknames Tamesis is given in this chapter. **_

"Tamesis let me explain-"

"No! No, I don't really think you need to explain. I can understand what's going on here. You've been lying to me."

"Tam, I'm sorry, I never meant to hurt you, just let me-"

"You don't get it Sirius! You have no idea what it's like to feel alone all your life. All my life I've been alone. I've been the freak and I didn't think I had anyone in this world. And then I find out that I'm a witch, and I also have a brother. That information would have been helpful, oh I don't know, 14 years ago!"

This time Dumbledore spoke. "I can understand why you feel upset Tamesis. I know it must be very overwhelming to find out that you are a witch and that you have a brother all in one day. But please, if you let me explain, I'm sure you will see things in a new light."

Tamesis felt herself growing even angrier. It was bad enough that they had known about her having a brother, now Dumbledore had to act like he knew what she was feeling. Hell no.

"How dare you! How dare you keep something like this from me then act like you know where I'm coming from with all this anger. You have no idea what this feels like!"

Sirius cut in again. "Tam I'm sorry, I really am, but-"

"Sirius how could you? How could you do this to me? I thought we were . . . I don't, not friends but I didn't think you would keep something like this from me."

To her embarrassment, she began tearing up. This was awful. Crying once was a weakness, but crying twice in one day was just stupid. Angrily, she rubbed a hand across her eyes.

"I am so sorry Tamesis. I wanted to tell you. I really did, but Dumbledore thought it best that we keep it a secret."

"But other people know. You said something about an 'order' knowing. Why couldn't I know? What harm would it have been?"

Sirius sighed, glanced at Dumbledore, and turned back to Tamesis.

"Let me start from the beginning. When I was your age at Hogwarts, I was friends with a boy named James. James Potter. We were the best of friends. Like brothers really. Along with our other friends Peter and Remus, we pretty much ruled the school. That's just a little back story. Not exactly important but . . . never mind.

Anyway, we were all really great friends. When we graduated, James finally married his longtime crush, Lily Evans. They were a really sweet couple. He loved her more than anything. After a while, Lily became pregnant and eventually gave birth to twins. They named them Tamesis and Harry, and made me the godfather.

If James had been happy when he married Lily it was nothing compared to what he felt when you two were born. He was . . . ecstatic. You two were his whole world. He'd do anything to protect you.

Anyway, during this time there was a bit of a war going on. A dark wizard named Voldemort was terrorizing everyone and everything, killing muggles, muggleborns, and anyone else who got in his way. Your parents were part of the . . . resistance if you will, against Voldemort. They were part of a group called the Order of the Phoenix, a group of people dedicated to stopping Voldemort and his followers, people called deatheaters. They knew it was a large risk, but they were willing to take it.

Anyway, it was Halloween night, and you and Harry were about one. Lily and James were at home with you two. It was a perfectly normal night I suppose. That's when it happened."

"What do you mean? What happened?"

"Voldemort happened. He barged in and James- James tried to fend him off. And Voldemort killed him. And then he killed Lily because she wouldn't step aside to let him kill you two. He probably would've killed both of you as well. That's when something changed. He tried to kill you but . . . it didn't work. No one knew what happened. It never had before. I came as soon as I found out. But when I got there all I saw was Harry. I thought you were dead. And it killed me inside not just to lose two of my best friends in one day, but that smiling, happy, adorable little girl as well."

Dumbledore spoke now. "That's where I came in. Harry was sent to your uncle and aunts house. They are not exactly . . . accepting of anything to do with magic whatsoever. They begrudgingly took Harry. I knew they wouldn't want to take in another child as well. That's why I left you on the doorstep of another muggle family. It seemed as though they were kind enough, and you would be safe, hidden."

Tam had to cut in there. She had never lived with any family. She'd spent her entire life at the orphanage.

"Yeah, Dumbledore, sorry to interrupt you here, but I've never lived with a nice, caring muggle family. In case you haven't noticed, I've spent my entire life in the orphanage."

Dumbledore nodded. "I was getting to that. Apparently there was a slight malfunction in my judgment of character. The family took you to an orphanage that day. We didn't find out where they had taken you up until about a year ago."

"A year. You knew for a full year where I was and you didn't come to get me?" Tam was no longer yelling anymore. Now her voice was quiet. Deadly quiet. The calm before a storm.

"We didn't want anyone to know there was another Potter still alive. You would instantly be targeted. You see, just last year Voldemort returned and if he knew that you were still alive-"

"You knew for a full year and you didn't come to get me. Do you want to know what it's like, spending your whole life in an orphanage? To spend your whole life without any friends? To be alone? It sucks!" She was definitely yelling now.

"I am done here! I don't need to take this crap!" Turning around, she barged out of the kitchen, running straight into Harry. She'd forgotten her yelling would probably wake up the whole house.

Harry looked bemused. His glasses were askew, and his hair was sticking up in all different directions. He had obviously just woken up, and the alarm in his mossy green eyes indicated that he thought something was seriously wrong.

"What's the matter? What's going on? Are you okay Tamesis?"

Tamesis turned on him now, once again tears forming and hysteria setting in. "You wanna know what's wrong Harry? I'm your freaking sister that's what's bloody wrong! Congratulations."

With that, she ran past Harry, through the sitting room, down the hallway, and out the door into the night, not stopping even as she heard Sirius calling desperately for her.

She couldn't believe it. Sirius had lied to her. She thought they had been on the way to becoming friends. She'd actually sort of liked him. As more than just a friend. It was hard not to. He was . . . amazing looking for starters. And he was nice to her. Glancing around, Tamesis realized she had no idea where she was. Surrounding her from every side were trees, grass, and flowers. She had ran straight into a park.

Breathing in deeply she sat herself down on a patch of grass and tried to calm down. Thinking about it now, away from the heat of the moment, it didn't seem as bad. Yes, Sirius had lied to her. Still, he'd only been doing it to protect her. And he had wanted to tell her. Dumbledore had been the one holding him back. Sighing she pushed her hair back from her forehead and wiped her eyes on her sleeve. She probably looked a right mess. Glancing around, she realized she had no idea how to get back to Grimmauld place from where she was. Suddenly, she heard a rustle.

Glancing behind her, Tamesis looked for the source of the noise. Probably a creepy mugger-rapist-scary person. Just what she needed. A perfect end to a perfect day. She found herself giggling in relief and surprise as what came out of the bushes was not a mugger-rapist-scary person, but a big black dog. Barking happily the dog trotted up to Tamesis and promptly began licking her face.

"Hey there boy. Where'd you come from?"

Reaching down, Tamesis began scratching the dog behind the ears. "Hey boy. I sure am glad it's you that came out of those bushes and not some crazy mugger-rapist-scary person." The dog began to bark again, but this time it sounded strangely like a laugh.

"You sure are lucky you're a dog. You don't have to deal with lying people who pretend they're your friend and then totally aren't. Then again, I can't really blame Sirius. It's not exactly his fault." Glancing down she realized just who she was ranting to.

"Look at me. Talking to a dog. I've gone off the deep end."

The dog whined as if he was arguing with this statement.

"What's the matter? You don't think I'm crazy? Well as long as I'm talking with you I might as well ask you this; do you happen to know how to get out of this park?"

The dog barked loudly and opened his mouth as if smiling. Getting up he began trotting off in the direction he had come, turning around as if waiting for Tam to follow. Getting up and brushing the grass and dirt off of her knees she began to follow the dog.

Eventually they made their way out of the park and onto a dark deserted street. Walking across the street Tamesis began to recognize her surroundings. Finally, they had reached number 12 Grimmauld Place. Turning to the dog Tamesis felt incredible disbelief. This stray dog had just led her right back to where she wanted to go.

"Thanks little guy. Hey, you wanna come inside? I could give you some food."

Whining slightly, the dog began to back away. "It's okay, you don't have to be afraid. I'm not going to hurt you. I just wanna give you some food."

Whining again, the dog turned around fully and ran away the way it had come.

"Never mind," Tam muttered. There went her potential pet. Turning back to the door she took in a deep breath and knocked.

Almost immediately the door opened and she found herself staring into the worried brown eyes of Mrs. Weasley.

"Tamesis? Oh thank goodness you're back dear! We were all so worried. You just can't run off like that. You could've been killed." Turning around, she yelled something to the occupants of the house.

"It's alright everyone, she's back!"

Stepping into the house Tamesis found herself right next to Harry. Glancing at him she knew exactly what he was going to say before he said it.

"We need to talk."

Tam nodded. "I agree."

"Do you want to go up to my room or something?"

"Sure."

Following Harry, they took off up the stairs into his room. Already there was the bushy haired girl, Hermione Tam remembered, and the red haired boy, Ron. Harry glanced at them.

"Could you guys give us a few minutes?"

"But-" Ron started, but before he could finish, Hermione grabbed him and practically dragged him out of the room, not without giving Tam a reassuring smile first.

Sitting down in a plain wooden chair Tamesis turned to look at Harry.

"So," Harry began.

"Yeah."

"You're my sister."

"I guess."

"You look just like mum. But you have dad's eyes."

"Can I see a picture?" Harry seemed surprised.

"Um, sure, hang on, I just have to get one from my trunk."

He handed her a faded photograph of a couple smiling a waving at the camera. The man and Harry looked almost identical except for the eyes. Tamesis had his eyes. Then there was the woman. Lily. The woman who had plagued her dreams all her life. They looked exactly the same. And that's when Tamesis really felt the loss of everything she could've had. A family. A brother and parents who loved her. And that's when she began to cry. She didn't know why exactly. Maybe it was because she'd had such a trying day. Or maybe it was because it was the first time she was seeing her parents. Or maybe it was just because every once and a while everyone needs a good long cry.

Harry ran over to the chair then and held her, and as Tamesis felt her shirt growing wet she realized he was crying too. And the two twins held each other as they cried, for all they had lost, and all they had gained.

After that breakdown the twins shared, Harry and Tamesis became inseparable, as if they had known each other for more than just a day. In fact, they almost rivaled Fred and George with their bond. Harry took it upon himself to almost play the big brother role in their relationship. He was rather overprotective at times, but Tam forgave that due to the fact that she was just so happy to finally have someone she could rely on.

Tamesis was also good friends with everyone else in the house. Ginny Weasley and Hermione Granger proved to be great companions when she wanted some girl time. Ron Weasley had taught her how to play wizarding chess, and once she'd gotten the hang of it, she proved to be a worthy component, a fact that was proven during their multiple chess tournaments. The other Weasleys seemed to like her as well. Fred and George often used her as an accomplice in their many pranks, Mr. Weasley seemed fascinated by her knowledge of the muggle world, and Mrs. Weasley took it upon herself to be an almost surrogate mother, insisting that she was much to skinny and often preparing her special meals to 'fatten her up a bit'.

She had also met another member of the household, Remus Lupin. He was a quiet, scholarly type, with raggedy clothes and scars all over his face. Sirius explained to her that he had gotten caught up in some legal troubles due to the fact that everyone blamed him for the death of some muggles. He now spent all his days in Grimmauld Place, reading books and chatting with Harry, Ron, Hermione and Tamesis.

The relationship between Tamesis and Sirius had blossomed as well. She talked to him and trusted him perhaps more than anyone else. He was her confidante, she told him everything, and he was always there for her. It was also due to the fact that they spent so much time together that Tamesis began to develop . . . feelings for Sirius. She knew it was wrong. He was much older than her, and her godfather to boot. Plus, she knew there was no way he felt anything back. He probably saw her as a little kid, a little sister or cousin maybe. He'd never see her as anything more.

The rest of the summer passed with startling speed. Before she knew it, it was September 1st and she was packing her trunk and getting ready to head off to Hogwarts.

Standing in the doorway getting ready to leave, she hugged Sirius tightly.

"I'm going to miss you so much! I can't believe I won't see you until Christmas!"

Sirius grinned. "Did I not tell you? I'm going to Hogwarts too. I'm the new Defense Against the Dark Arts professor."

Tam felt herself grinning as well. It was just like Sirius to keep something like that from her until the first day of term.

"No, you did not tell me you were going to Hogwarts. Might've been bloody useful."

Sirius threw back his head and let out that bark like laugh she had grown so accustomed to.

"I thought it might be a nice surprise." He winked. "It'll give me a chance to keep an eye on you."

Just as Tamesis was about to reply Mrs. Weasley bustled right through them, looking extremely frazzled.

"Come along everyone! The train leaves in just one hour and we're not even at the front door!" Pushing back her bangs she turned to look at Tamesis. "Tammy, there you are dear. Why don't you head out with Sirius to the car."

Sirius smiled at her, holding out his arm for her to take. "Come along Tam Tam."

Tamesis glared. "My name happens to be Tamesis, not Tam Tam."

"Come now, what's wrong with Tam Tam? I think it's a lovely nickname."

"It's sounds like Bam Bam, which makes me sound like some kind of caveman or something."

"You know that means I'm calling you Tam Tam from now on, right?"

She nodded, resigned to her fate. "Don't worry, I won't call you Tam Tam all the time, _Tamesis."_ He put special emphasis on her name.

The car ride was rather uneventful. The twins and Mrs. Weasley argued the whole way there, but that was pretty much the norm. Finally, they made it to Kings Cross Station with minutes to spare, and all boarded the train. Sirius had to run off to sit in a teacher's compartment, so Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Ginny all piled into a compartment, along with a boy named Neville Longbottom, and a slightly strange girl in Ginny's year named Luna Lovegood. Before entering the compartment however, they ran into a gorgeous girl with long silky black hair and warm, brown almond shaped eyes, who left Harry blushing and sweating nervously.

"Who was that?" Tamesis asked.

Hermione answered. "That's Cho Chang. Harry's been in love with her since last year."

"Ah." So that was it. Harry had a crush.

The rest of the train ride passed without incident, and eventually they made it to Hogwarts. The castle was amazing. It was large, majestic, and it really was a castle, with long, tall, turrets, and stone gargoyles from all sides.

Getting out of the train, Tamesis did her best to follow Harry, Ron, and Hermione to a carriage that took them to their destination.

Finally reaching the castle, Tamesis walked through the front doors and was amazed. The great hall was . . . incredible! Harry pointed to a small wooden chair and ratty looking hat.

"For the sorting," he explained. Ah, yes. The sorting. The one thing she had been dreading. She had to be in Gryffindor. If she didn't get in she didn't know what she would do.

A door behind her opened up and out came a serious looking witch with velvet robes and a tall pointed hat. She turned to look at Tamesis.

"Ah yes, you must be Ms. Potter. I am Professor McGonagall. If you will just join the line of students behind me, and wait for your name to be called."

Tamesis looked behind the woman to see a group of scared looking eleven year olds. Walking past Professor McGonagall, she joined the throng of students.

After waiting for about five minutes, the Professor began to call out names. Alton, Marcy! There was a brief pause as a tiny blond girl ran up to the chair and sat down on it. McGonagall took the ratty looking hat and placed it on Marcy's head. After a few moments of silence the hat called out, "RAVENCLAW!" One of the long tables began clapping loudly, as the girl ran to take her seat amongst them.

Slowly, one by one, every name was called until they came to the P's.

"Potter, Tamesis!" Tamesis felt a rush of adrenalin. This was it. She would finally find out which house she was to be in for the next three years.

Sitting on the stool she felt the hat placed on her head. She jumped in surprise as she heard the hat _talking_ in her ear.

"_Ah, yes. Another Potter. Well where should I put you? I don't really think there's much of a question is there? It's got to be GRYFFINDOR"_

Tamesis felt herself breaking into a huge grin as she rushed over to where she saw Harry sitting with Ron and Hermione, all of whom were applauding wildly.

Tam looked up at the table in the front where she saw Sirius grinning at her, giving her a thumbs up. She grinned back, winking at him.

Eventually all the students were sorted. Up at the teacher's table someone stood up. Tam realized it was Dumbledore.

"Welcome back, old students, to another yet another year at Hogwarts and to all new students I am happy to welcome you here for the first time. Now, before you eat, I would like to make a few announcements. First off, Professor Binns has decided to take a much needed vacation, and in his place we will have someone new, Professor Nikki Winters, take his place." Tam looked up at the teacher's table to see a perfect looking blond woman stand up and wave at the entire school.

"Next, I would like to welcome Professor Sirius Black to the position of Defense Against the Dark Arts. Joining him as assistant will be Professor Dolores Umbridge who happens to work at the ministry. I'm sure-"

Before Dumbledore could finish a tiny toad like woman dressed in pastel pink robes stood up and cleared her throat.

"Hem, hem. Excuse me Dumbledore, but I will take it from here." Ah, so that must be Professor Umbridge. Smiling at everyone she began a very long winded speech and Tamesis found herself zoning out a bit. Hermione had to prod her with a fork.

"It's over. We can eat now."

"What was that all about?" Tam asked.

"She basically said that she's controlling Hogwarts from now on. I don't know who she thinks she is but I know this can't turn out well."

Ron piped in. "C'mon Hermione, let's just eat food. You always have to kill the mood." Hermione sighed and ate her Sheppard's pie.

_**A/N: Please review!**_


	5. Chapter 5

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter.**_

"So are you really Harry Potter's sister?"

"Do you remember what happened _that night_?"

"Is it true you didn't know you were a witch until now?"

"Um." Tamesis could hardly think. Ever since she had entered the girl's dormitory she had been bombarded from all sides by questions. Honestly all she wanted to do was get some sleep, but apparently for everyone else it was vital that they found out all of these things now.

"C'mon guys, it's been a long day, maybe we should all just get some sleep." Thank god for Hermione Granger. You would never know it, but that girl was amazing at defusing annoying situations.

"Well I'm not tired, and if you're tired why don't you go to bed Hermione? Angelis isn't tired, are you Angelis?" Great. What was wrong with the girls in this dorm? The girl who had spoken, Lavender Brown, was just like those popular girls in muggle movies she used to watch. Condescending, bitchy, and she had forgotten her name.

"Um, my name is Tamesis, not Angelis, and actually, I'm beat. I really would like to get some shuteye. Long day and all that."

Lavender smiled sweetly but you could tell it was an act. She was used to getting her way. No matter what.

"C'mon Tamesis. Surely you can answer just a few of our questions. It won't take longer than 10 minutes at the most, and it's only 9:30. Surely you don't want to go to bed this early." She laughed, a nasal, tinkling sound, almost like bells.

"I'm sorry Lavender, but I'd really like to get some sleep. I've had a pretty long day, and tomorrow's my first day, I don't want to sleep in."

Lavender and the rest of the girls visibly deflated. "All right then. We certainly don't want you to be too tired tomorrow." With that, they all stalked out the door, and Tamesis presumed, the Gryffindor common room.

She turned to Hermione. "Are they always like that?"

Hermione sighed. "Yeah. It's a shame. They weren't always like this you know. They used to be really nice up until third year."

"Oh. That seems like the age when people really start to change. I used to have this friend at the orphanage, Alice, but when we turned 13 she got really mean. She got adopted a few months later so it didn't really matter."

Hermione nodded. She understood.

"Thanks for helping me out back there by the way. I don't know what I would have said to them. I didn't even know half the stuff they were asking me."

"It's okay. I figured you wouldn't want to deal with that crap right now. It's been a long day."

"I'm gonna go to bed."

"Yeah, same. Long day tomorrow and all that."

Walking over to the bed, Tamesis lay down and drew the curtains around it. She didn't expect to fall asleep. Usually after eating a large dinner it took her a few hours to feel comfortable enough to sleep, but for some reason, that night she managed to fall into the oblivion of sleep right away.

"No, no please, not Harry and Tamesis. Please, not my babies. Please!"

"I warned you girl. Avada Kedavra!"

Tamesis awoke gasping for breath. Once again the same dream. Now she knew who the people were though. She felt tears coming to her eyes. That had been her mother. Her mother had died trying to protect her, her father as well. Getting up she stretched. She couldn't sit in this room any longer. It was choking her. Making sure not to wake any of her roommates, she gently creaked open the door, snuck down the stairs, and through the portrait hole.

She didn't really know where she was going. She just knew she had to get out, to smell fresh air. After about ten minutes of aimlessly wandering through the halls she finally made it to something familiar. The great hall. Freedom, at last.

It was a cold night. Chilly. Tamesis wished she had brought some kind of sweater. She also wished it wasn't so creepy. If only there was some kind of streetlamp or something. Tamesis and darkness happened to be like oil and water. They didn't mix well.

Walking onward she found herself at the edges of a huge, dark forest. _This must be the Forbidden Forest,_ Tam thought to herself. Dumbledore had expressly forbid students from entering the forest. Apparently there were all kind of 'dangers.'

Whatever. A forest couldn't have that many dangers. Maybe a few mice, a bear or two. Nothing she couldn't run away from.

Being careful not to trip over any shrubs or roots she began picking her way through the forest. She had never been in a forest before. The orphanage had taken everyone on a trip to the park once, but it was nothing compared to this. The park had been perfectly groomed; everything had its place, and was in said place. The forest was different. It was wild. Trees grew high and mighty, with untrimmed branches and plenty of vines. The only flowers were tiny blue daisies that were trampled and showed no signs of care. There definitely wasn't a gardener looking after this place.

Eventually, she found a nearby rock, which was flat and covered in soft moss, which she gladly sat down in. It was quiet in the forest. If there were any animals or life whatsoever, they showed no signs of being there. She breathed in deeply. She would really have to find a way of getting around those nightmares. Maybe she could ask Hermione if she knew of any spells for a dreamless sleep.

Suddenly, the bush behind her began to rustle. Tam began to panic. Why hadn't she listened to Dumbledore? He was a smart wizard. He was pretty old. He'd probably seen a lot of the world. He probably knew what he was talking about. He wouldn't lie about the forest being dangerous.

Breathing in deeply she decided to confront whoever, (or whatever) was behind that bush.

"Alright then. If you're trying to scare me, mission accomplished. You might as well come out now." A slight pause. "But you know, if you are something scary and evil, please don't kill me."

The bushes rustled again. Tam shut her eyes tightly. This was it. This was the end. Whatever it was would come out and kill her, and all they'd find of her months later would be her finer or something. She didn't think she'd die like this. She'd still had so many things to do. She hadn't told Sirius that she liked him. Now he would never know.

"Arf!"

"I beg your pardon?" Slowly, Tamesis opened her eyes.

"Arf! Arf!"

She squealed in delight. Standing in front of her was none other than her dog friend from Grimmauld Place.

"Oh, my, gosh! Doggy! It's you! Did you follow me here all the way from Grimmauld Place? How could you have gotten here?"

Once again, the dog barked loudly, and bounded up to her.

"C'mere little doggy. Oh. I can't exactly keep calling you doggy can I? I have to come up with a name."

She glanced at the dog. "How do you feel about . . . Fluffy?"

The dog growled. "I'll take that as a no. Um . . . maybe Orion? Like the hunter."

The dog growled even louder this time. "Okay, okay. Um, I don't know, Blackie?"

The dog began to bark loudly and began to enthusiastically lick her face.

"Okay, okay, Blackie it is. You're pretty intelligent for a dog, you know."

Blackie opened his mouth as if smiling and barked once again.

Tamesis shook her head. "If I didn't know any better, I would swear that you understand me. It's sort of creepy."

Once again, Blackie barked.

"Keep it down Blackie. I can't have anyone knowing I'm out here. I'm technically supposed to be in bed, you see."

Blackie gave her a disapproving look.

"Look, it's not my fault. I needed some air is all. I keep having this nightmare."

Blackie whined.

"Okay, okay, I'll tell you. It's really not that interesting though. It's just . . . I keep having this nightmare. I've been having it as long as I can remember. It's about this woman, Lily who tries to protect her children but then this man, Voldemort, comes and kills her. It's awful though, 'cause I just found out that the woman, Lily, is my mum." To her embarrassment she began to cry slightly.

"I'm sorry Blackie. Look at me, unloading all of my problems on dog. I'm a basket case. It's just so awful. She was just trying to protect her kids and he had to go and kill her. And now I'll never know what it's like to have parents." The slight tears had now turned into full-fledged sobs, and she buried her face in Blackie's soft inky fur. Gently, Blackie looked up to begin licking her face. Tamesis laughed.

"C'mon Blackie, stop. That tickles." Reluctantly Blackie stopped licking her, but he continued to rest his head gently on her shoulder.

"Thanks for being here for me. I don't know what I would do if it weren't for you. Go crazy most likely. I mean, I can't exactly tell Harry about this. He's already got enough on his plate. And I don't want to bother Sirius." At the mention of Sirius, the dog perked up slightly.

"Oh, I forgot, you wouldn't know who they are. Harry's my brother, and Sirius is my . . . best friend and godfather."

Blackie barked.

"What, you want to know more? Tell you what, I'll bring you back to Hogwarts with me. That way you'll have a home and you won't have to sleep out here in the cold. Come on, let's go."

Getting up and brushing herself off, she headed back in the direction she had come. Eventually, they made it back to the castle, but not without Tamesis getting lost two or three times.

"Okay now Blackie, this is the trickiest part. Technically I'm not even supposed to bring a dog into the building, and I'm out of bed after curfew. You have to be really quiet, or I could get in serious trouble. Understood?" Blackie nodded.

"Good. Okay, let's go."

The trip back to the dorm room was probably the most stressful Tamesis had ever completed. Every creak of a floorboard caused her heart to leap into her throat, and she didn't feel normal again until she had reached the girl's dormitory and was in her bed, safe and sound.

She yawned. She hadn't realized it, but she was more tired than she had been aware of.

"Goodnight Blackie. Thanks for being so quiet." Blackie simply hopped up on the bed and curled up right next to her face. Before she knew it, Tamesis had entered a dreamless sleep once again.

"Tamesis. Tam? Tamesis, wake up!"

Tamesis awoke to find herself looking up into the face of one very frazzled Hermione Granger.

"Finally, you're awake. Come on, we have classes in an hour, you have to get dressed."

"Shoot." Tamesis was out of bed in a flash, grabbing her clothes from the drawer and running into the bathroom.

She had her teeth brushed and was fully dressed five minutes later, and along with Hermione, Ron and Harry headed down to the great hall for breakfast, where they were greeted by Professor McGonagall, who handed them each a schedule.

"Ugh," Harry groaned.

"What's the matter?"

He turned to Tamesis. "We've got potions first thing. The professor, Snape, he's awful. He's hates anyone who's in Gryffindor, especially me."

"Why?"

"Apparently he and dad hated each other when they were in school, so now, since I look so much like him, he hates me. It's not fair, but I've learned to deal with it."

Tamesis nodded. "Do you think he'll hate me too? I'm a Potter as well."

"I don't know. I would be super careful though. The last thing you need on the first day of term is a detention with Snape."

Hermione looked up from her watch. "We should get going then; we're gonna be late."

They made it to potions with minutes to spare. Harry and Ron sat together, so Hermione and Tamesis grabbed a station together.

"Where's the professor?" Tamesis asked.

"He's not here yet," Hermione replied. "He always makes sure to come just as class begins."

"Why is th-" Tamesis began, but before she could finish a deadly hush fell over the class as a man in swirling black robes crossed down the row of desks to the front of the room.

"That's Professor Snape," Hermione whispered.

"Welcome class, to another year of potions. This year, will be by far, the most challenging to date. You will be expected to do nothing less than perfect. I highly doubt any of you will receive a grade higher than an 'Acceptable' on your OWLS."

"He's scary," Tam whispered to Hermione.

"I know. We should be quiet though, or he'll yell at us."

"If you will kindly shut up Ms. Granger, I would like to take the roll."

Hermione turned pink. "Sorry, Professor."

"Abbot, Hannah."

"Here."

"Bones, Susan."

Eventually he reached the P's. "Potter, Harry."

"Here."

"Potter, Tamesis."

"Here."

Snape glanced at her. He had clearly been ready to deliver some sort of biting comment but instead froze in surprise. Tamesis clearly saw his lips silently form the word, 'Lily.'

Quickly recovering Snape sneered. "Ah. Another Potter. I suppose you think you're incredibly special. Better than everyone else, just like your narcissistic brother.

"No sir."

"We'll see how great you are. Ms. Potter, what is one way to cure most poisons?"

"I-I'm afraid I don't know sir."

"What is one ingredient that will supply someone with immortality?"

"I-I'm sorry sir, I don't know."

"Typical. Too conceited to study your books before term, eh Potter?"

"I'm sorry sir, I'll do my best to catch up."

"Your best is not good enough. If you had studied sufficiently, you would know that most poisons are cured by a bezoars, and immortality can be gained through drinking unicorn's blood. 20 points from Gryffindor for your being unprepared."

Tamesis was close to tears. The first day, the first period no less, and she had already lost her house 20 points. "I-I'm sorry sir."

Snape finished roll, finally, and began explaining the day's lesson. "Today, you will be brewing an aging solution. Relatively simple, but with disastrous if prepared incorrectly. You have forty minutes. Your time starts now."

Tam turned to the page in her book titled, _**AGING SOLUTION. **_Following the instructions she carefully began to measure out the ingredients and mixed them in. She rather liked potions, she decided. It reminded her of cooking. Before she knew it, the forty minutes was up and Snape was walking around to each station inspecting everyone attempts. Finally, he came to Tamesis.

Taking some of her potion into an pipette, he held it over a small bowl containing what appeared to be a tadpole.

"If you have prepared the potion correctly, Ms. Potter, it should cause this tadpole to transform into a fully formed frog." That said, he gently squeezed a droplet of the potion onto the tadpole. Tamesis held her breath, waiting.

After about five seconds before her eyes the tadpole transformed into a very slimy, very loud, very ugly looking frog. Snape raised is eyebrows.

"Is this your first time making a potion, Ms. Potter?"

She nodded.

"I must say I am . . . surprised. Good job."

With that, he walked away, leaving Tamesis to wonder what had inspired his sudden change of character.

_**A/N: please review.**_


	6. Chapter 6

_**A/N: I am so, so, so sorry for not updating sooner. I know that I'm a terrible person who just sort of leaves her readers hanging, waiting for more. I feel awful. My laptop is currently out of commission, (I'll probably have working again by the time school starts) and I am now relying on the family desktop to get all of these chapters out. The only problem is, the desktop is kept locked almost all the time, and so the updates probably won't be coming as quickly as before. Sorry about that. Also, I'm going on vacation soon, so unless I update within the next few days, there probably won't be anything for at least a week and a half. Just warning you ahead of time.**_

_**To everyone who put this on alert, or author alerted, or favorited this story: thank you so much. It means a lot. To guardians2LM and **__**CaribbeanTrinidadian**__**: thank you so much for reviewing. It's what motivates me to write more. As well as all that, since people have actually begun to review this story, I've gotten kind of greedy. Before I update again, I would really like at least four reviews please. I really want to know what you think. I think that's everything. Once again, thanks to everyone who reviewed/favorited/added to alerts. And now, on with the story.**_

"What was that all about?" Harry regarded Tamesis curiously.

"What do you mean?"

"I don't know, Snape didn't call your potion complete and utter crap."

"And that's a first?"

"Yeah, pretty much."

The four of them, Harry, Tamesis, Ron and Hermione had all just left potions and were headed over to their next class of the day, Transfiguration. Harry, Ron, and Hermione, however, all seemed to be rather preoccupied with the fact that Snape hadn't said one bad word about her potion.

"I don't really think the fact that he said it was good is such a great thing. I'm not taking it as a complement. He was kind of a jerk about it."

Even Hermione had joined the conversation by now. "It really is a big deal though, Tamesis. He never says my potions are good, not ever, and you're . . . well, you're a Potter. He hates Harry. Why should he be nice to you at all? Logically, he would be horrible to you."

Tamesis shook her head. "You guys can contemplate the strangeness of Severus Snape all you want. I, for one, have a Transfiguration class I don't particularly want to be late for."

She turned and began walking down the hall. Harry called out to her. "Um, Tam, Transfiguration's the other way."

She blushed. "I knew that."

"Sure you did Tammy, sure you did."

"Now, today we will be learning how to transform an inanimate object, into a living creature, such as a mouse, or bird. Not only that, we will also be learning the theory behind it."

A few members of the class groaned. McGonagall turned to glare at them sharply.

"Now, I'll have none of that. You are taking your OWL's this year. I expect you to be fully prepared. It is your fifth year at Hogwarts. There will be no more babying in this class. Now, seeing as all of you were in my class last year, you should all have a strong foundation for the theory of Transfiguration."

Tamesis raised her hand tentatively. "Um, Professor, I'm sorry, but I have no idea what you're talking about." Due to her successful potions class the period before, Tamesis had entered the class fully expecting everything to make sense. This was obviously not the case. After all, these students had been taking Transfiguration for four years now. It was highly doubtful that they would be in a class that would make sense to a novice such as herself.

McGonagall peered down at Tamesis over her wire-framed spectacles. "Ah Ms. Potter. Why are you even in this class?"

Tamesis began to stammer out a response. "I-it said on my schedule just to come here with the rest of the fifth year Gryffindors, I'm sorry, I-"

McGonagall interrupted her. "It's alright Ms. Potter, we'll just have to sort this out with Dumbledore. You may follow me." She turned to the rest of the class. "The rest of you, turn to chapter one section one in your textbooks and begin reviewing, "Transfiguration Theory." She turned to Tamesis once again. "Come with me, Ms. Potter, this way."

At the doorway, she turned around to once again glare at the class. "And if I see a single one of you not studying quietly in your seats when I get back you will have detention before you can say Merlin."

With that, she turned and began briskly walking down the corridor. Tamesis struggled to keep up. Professor McGonagall may have been well into her fifties, but Merlin, she was fast. Eventually, they reached the end of the corridor. Tamesis glanced around, puzzled. Why had they stopped here? All she could see was a giant stone gargoyle, but she failed to see how that would help them speak with Dumbledore.

McGonagall leaned into the gargoyle and said clearly, "Chocolate Frogs." Nothing happened. McGonagall let out a frustrated sigh and stepped back. "What is it now?" She spoke to herself, having seemingly forgotten that Tamesis was in the room at all. Once again, she stepped up to the gargoyle. "Lemon Drop." Nothing happened.

"Acid Pop." Nothing.

"Sugar Quills." Nope. She was getting pretty annoyed by now.

"Licorice Wands!" Nada.

"Oh I don't know! How am I supposed to know? Maybe if he kept a pass-

word-" the gargoyle began to move aside to reveal an old stone staircase built into the wall.

McGonagall gaped in disbelief. "Really? The man really made is password 'password'? I don't believe it." Finally seeming to realize Tamesis had been there the whole time, she turned around to face her, a little embarrassed.

"The man never keeps a password for more than five minutes. Thinks it keeps us staff members 'on our toes'." She shook her head.

"Well then Ms. Potter, follow me." McGonagall began the ascent up the stairs, Tamesis following at her heals. It seemed to go on forever, until finally they reached an old oak door with a plaque stating, _Headmaster's Office_ in fancy lettering. McGonagall paused to catch her breath, and then knocked on the door.

"Come in!" a voice called. McGonagall opened the door to reveal one of the most strange, and interesting, rooms Tamesis had ever seen. It certainly didn't look like a Headmaster's office, that was for sure. It was a large open room, with a large desk in one corner, and an elaborate gilded birdcage in another corner by the window. On every flat surface lay objects of all shapes and sizes, all silver, some spinning, one hissing, and another making a high pitched whistling noise. In another corner sat what appeared to be a large toilet bowl, filled with swirling silver liquid. In the center of the room sat Dumbledore and Sirius, in a comfortable looking armchairs, both holding teacups.

Dumbledore smiled warmly. "Ah Minerva, Tamesis, you're just in time to join Sirius and me for a nice cup of tea. And speaking of the devil, Tamesis. Sirius and I were just discussing what we should do to catch you up, seeing as though you've had no magical training before."

McGonagall interjected. "Yes, that is what I've come to see you about Albus. Ms. Potter is hopelessly behind in all of her classes. There is no way she can stay in fifth year classes. We will have to pull her out and put her into first year classes at once."

Tamesis blanched. First year classes? As if she wasn't enough of a freak already, the forgotten Potter sister, now she would be the only fifteen year old in a room full of eleven year olds. Her panic must have shown clearly on her face, for Sirius chose then to interrupt.

"I really don't think it's necessary to pull Tamesis out of fifth year classes completely."

"I don't really know what else you propose Mr. Black. Unless you have any brilliant ideas that you haven't shared with us?" Sirius was silent. "I thought so. I suppose it is settled then. Ms. Potter will begin in her first year classes this afternoon and-"

"What if I gave her tutoring?" Sirius blurted out. All eyes turned to him. "What I mean is . . . if I could just tutor Ms. Potter every night of the week for about two hours, and then more on the weekends, I'm sure she would catch up. She's a bright girl after all."

Tamesis felt herself blush. She hoped Sirius hadn't noticed. Dumbledore began nodding thoughtfully. "I suppose that could work. And you're right Sirius, she's a smart, capable girl, she'll pick it all up rather quickly. And it will be a lot better for her than distancing her from her friends." He nodded. "Yes, that should work just fine." He glanced at Tamesis. "That is, if Ms. Potter is fine with it."

Tamesis nodded vigorously. "Yes Professor, I would like that very much."

McGonagall nodded as well. "Alright Ms. Potter. You may get ready for your next class if you like. There's nothing in my class today that you will understand. Still, I would like you to read the chapter on Transfiguration theory and try to understand it. I will be expecting you in class bright and early tomorrow morning." With that, she left the room.

Tamesis reached into her bag and took out her schedule. "Looks like I've got DADA next." She placed the schedule back in her bag. "See you in class Sirius. Bye Professor Dumbledore."

As she was walking down the stairs, Sirius caught up with her. "I should be going down too. I've got a class to teach next. DADA with the fifth years." He made a face.

Tamesis smiled, playing along. "Oh I've heard they're awful."

"Me too. Especially that Tam Tam Potter girl. She's the worst."

Tamesis laughed. "Well I think you're lucky. I've got DADA next. With Professor Black. I've heard he's a boring old coot. "

She leaned in. "But you know who's really the worst? That toad Umbridge." Sirius let out that bark of a laugh of his.

"Alright, alright. Enough beating up on the toad. Didn't you hear her speech? She's probably watching us right now."

He held out his arm to her. "May I escort you to your next class fair lady?"

Tamesis blushed. He had called her fair lady. "Um, yes, you may noble sir."

"Look at her. She's so pretty. Like an angel. She's much better than that senile, Binns, anyway." Ron sighed dreamily, not noticing as he dribbled soup all over the front of his sweater. Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Really Ronald, I don't know how you could possibly know that. We haven't had one single class with her yet. She could be a really awful person."

Tamesis nodded, agreeing. "It's true Ron. You shouldn't judge a book by its cover."

Ron frowned. "Way to ruin my good mood. Thank you. I mean it." He finally caught sight of his stained sweater. "Great. Just great."

Tamesis laughed. It felt wonderful to be happy for what felt like the first time ever. Just two months ago she had been completely alone, unloved, with no family, no friends, no one to look after her. Now, she had a brother, friends, an amazing school, and . . . Sirius. She didn't really know what category he fell into. She knew there was no way he would ever notice her. It was ridiculous to have a crush on him anyway. He had been her dad's best friend for Merlin's sake. He probably only saw her as a little sister, or cousin.

"I'm glad you find my situation humorous Tam."

"C'mon Ron, lay off my sister. No one's allowed to get mad at her." Harry paused to think. "Except me, that is," he amended.

Tamesis glanced at her watch. _6:20_. "Shoot! I'm gonna be late for my lessons with Sirius. I know we sort of said we would all hang out in the common room tonight, but I don't think that's going to happen anytime soon. Rain check?"

Harry nodded. "Sure Tam. Have fun."

Tam nodded. "I'll try."

"Don't be nervous. Sirius is great. At least you haven't got Snape."

"Ah, it makes me thankful for the small things in life."

With that, she got up and began making her way out of the great hall. Her first day had been . . . interesting to say the least. Her normal school certainly wouldn't have given her a lesson on properly taking care of a unicorn. That had been cool. And she got to use a magic wand. She giggled. It was just so . . . surreal. Being there. At Hogwarts. With a brother no less. She finally belonged. And it felt wonderful.

Finally, she reached the empty classroom she and Sirius had agreed on meeting at. Sirius was already there.

She self-consciously straightened her robes. "Sorry I'm late."

Sirius smiled. "It's fine. Ready to get down to business?"

She nodded.

"Alright then. I figured first I could start with some defense against the dark arts, then some transfiguration, and finish with charms. Herbology is pretty straightforward, as is care of magical creatures, and I've heard you've rather got a knack for potions."

"I suppose."

"Okay." He paused to think. "Where to begin?"

"The beginning?"

He mock glared at her. "It was a rhetorical question."

"Sorry."

He stood in the middle of the room like that for quite awhile, until suddenly he jumped up excitedly. Tamesis, who had started zoning out, jumped a bit as well. "I know! The riddikulus spell. We'll need a boggart though . . ."

Tamesis shook her head, still rather dazed after being startled out of a daydream about herself and Sirius. She really needed to get this crush under control. Maybe if she-

"Oh! I'm so stupid! I'm really stupid. How could I have forgotten? There's a boggart on the fourth floor, in a broom cupboard. Filch was ranting about it all through dinner. Nearly unbearable."

He turned to Tamesis. "I'm telling you, if I thought that man was bad when I went to school here, he's a hundred times worse now, believe me."

With that, he grabbed her hand and began dragging her from the room and up the stairs.

"Um, Sirius, where are we going?"

"The fourth floor."

She suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. "I know that, smart one. I meant, what are we doing when we get there? And what's a boggart?"

Sirius didn't appear to be listening. "Here we are. The fourth floor. Now where's that broom cupboard. Ah ha! Well then. Tonight we will be learning the riddikulus spell. This spell is only used on boggarts, but you should definitely know it. Boggarts can be nasty little buggers."

Tamesis decided to ask again. "Um, Sirius, what's a boggart?"

"Ah. I was sort of counting on you knowing that already. Okey dokey. A boggart. Hmmm. A boggart is a . . . creature I suppose. You can never know what it looks like because it will always take the form of what the person looking at it fears the most. However, a boggart hates laughter. So, casting the riddikulus spell and imagining something funny happening to the thing you fear the most should finish it off. Don't worry, it's pretty easy."

Tamesis nodded. "Right. Easy."

"Now, I want you to think about what you fear the most. Can you picture it?" Tamesis thought. What did she fear the most? She didn't know. Maybe . . . maybe that scary ghost from that horror movie she'd watched when she was twelve. That had been pretty scary. She decided that would probably be what she would see. She nodded.

"Okay now imagine . . . something funny happening to it. Can you?

Tamesis thought to herself. Maybe the ghost could be mute. After all, that sound it had made had been . . . god-awful. She shuddered.

"Yeah. I can think of something."

"Alright then. I'm going to open the cupboard. Remember, just wave your wand, say riddikulus, and all the while have a very clear picture of what you want to happen to it. Alright?"

Tamesis nodded.

"Okay then. On the count of three. One, two, three!"

He opened the cupboard.

"Hello Tam." Tamesis gasped, as she found herself looking at none other than, Sirius, Harry, Ron and Hermione.


	7. Chapter 7

_**A/N: I don't think there are words to express how sorry I am for keeping you waiting so long. Honestly, time got away from me. Once I got back from Maine, my laptop was taken away, then I started at my new school and I've been spending a lot of time trying to get used to that. The good news is, I've got my laptop back and can therefore write more often. The bad news. I don't actually have that much time to write, which means that updates are probably gonna be coming once a week, either on Sundays or Saturdays. Maybe if it's a holiday or something I'll be able to update twice a week, but we'll see. And don't worry! I haven't given up on this story, nor do I plan to. So if I don't update for a while, I'll try to leave an A/N explaining what happened. If not, just assume that I got kind of run down with work. That being said, lets go on to the thank you section. I just wanted to say thank you to all those 'random' reviewers (marce, hon, I know they were from you,) and a big special thank you to guardians2LM. You are pretty much my biggest fan right now and your support means so much. Now that that's all over with, on with the story. Enjoy!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own anything at all, except for Professor Winters and Tamesis. **_

It was Sirius who had spoken. Except . . . he wasn't really Sirius. Well, that wasn't exactly true. They were completely the same in every detail, right down to the slight stubble on his cheeks and slightly crooked left canine. But looks aside they were . . . different. The Sirius standing in front of Tamesis was not the one she had grown accustomed to. This new Sirius was dark, cruel. A smirk graced his lips, but it wasn't his usual carefree smile. This was just . . . dark.

"Are you a stupid girl Tamesis?"

Tamesis started. She'd been so preoccupied with studying Sirius that she'd failed to remember there were still three other people in the room. It was Harry who'd spoken. But once again Tamesis found herself thinking that this wasn't Harry, couldn't be Harry. Her Harry would never be so . . . evil.

"What exactly do you mean?" Harry sneered. "I'm pretty sure I mean what I just said. Are. You. Stupid?"

Tamesis recovered herself. This was Harry. Her brother. Who was probably just messing with her. Well boy was he in for the talking to of his life.

"Are you kidding me? What's gotten into you? Of course I'm not stupid. It's a rather random sentence opener as well, as long as we're on the subject of stupidity. And how did you even get up here? This is supposed to be a private lesson! Just because you're my brother doesn't mean I'm going to tol-"

Harry cut her off. "Well then why are you still here?"

Tamesis faltered. "I beg your pardon?"

"You just said you're smart. Well then if you're so smart I want to know what you're still doing here when clearly you're not wanted."

"Is this a joke? Because Harry James Potter this is not funny! You better stop it right now!"

Hermione stepped forward. "Let me handle this Harry. It's best she hears this from a girl. She can relate to me more. I think what Harry is trying to say Tamesis, is that you're not really wanted here. The only reason we put up with you before is because . . . well we didn't want you to feel bad. But the truth is we really can't stand you. I'm sorry." She didn't sound very sorry.

Tamesis felt herself beginning to panic. "Wha-what do you mean? Stop joking around guys, it's not funny!"

Harry talked this time. "Really Tamesis? Are you really that bad at dealing with rejection? Leave yourself with some dignity and just stop. Because the truth is, I'd rather have gone on thinking I had no family than to know about you, and have to deal with you every day."

She began shaking her head. "N-no. That's not true. P-please tell me that's not true."

"Why should we lie to you?"

She turned to Ron. "Ron? You don't feel the way they do, right? Please tell me you still like me. Please."

Ron shook his head in disgust. "God. You could at least try to keep your dignity intact."

Tears had begun to form in her eyes. She thought she had finally been accepted somewhere. And now here were her so called friends telling her she wasn't. She turned to Hermione. "H-He-Her-Hermione?" Hermione just shook her head and looked away.

The tears were really streaming down her face now. "Guys please. Don't joke around about something like this. Please. Please don't hate me."

"Give it up Tam." A new voice this time. Sirius. She'd been so distracted by the Harry-Ron-Hermione debacle that she'd completely forgotten about Sirius. He stood a little ways away, leaning casually against the broom cupboard.

"S-Sirius? Please. Please, please, please don't turn on me as well. I don't think I could take it. Please Sirius. You're all I have left. Please." She got down on her knees now. She was literally begging, tears streaming down her pale cheeks, hands scrunching the fabric of her robes. "Please. Please, please, please Sirius. Please don't hate me too. Please. I'm begging."

Sirius turned away. "I'm sorry Tam. Why would I have any feelings for you? Why would I want to let you stay in my house? I haven't seen you for fourteen years. I don't exactly know you. And I don't want to. First chance I get you're going back to that orphanage where you came fr-"

"Riddikulus!" Tamesis still lay on the floor, crying and shaking, not noticing the fact that Harry, Ron, Hermione and Sirius had disappeared. Then she felt a gentle hand on her shoulder.

"Tamesis? Are you alright? It's not real, I promise it's not real. None of us would ever say that. I promise you." She looked up to find herself staring into the calming silver eyes of Sirius, the real Sirius, the one she knew would never have said those things to her.

Shakily she reached up to wipe the tears off her cheeks. "So it wasn't real?" she managed to croak out. "No, it wasn't. That was just the boggart. I um . . . I never knew that's what you were afraid of."

"Neither did I. I just thought The Grudge ghost would pop out at me and start going, 'aaaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh' and I would be all, riddikulus! And it would lose its voice."

Sirius stared at her blankly.

"You know! The Grudge! That scary movie that takes place in Japan. With that creepy little boy and that creepy girl and they, like, follow people."

Sirius still looked confused.

"It's a muggle movie, so I guess you wouldn't know of it."

"Yeah. Right then. Are you okay?"

"Um yeah. Fine," she said, more than a little embarrassed that she had been reduced to a cowering ball of sobs on the floor.

"I just want you to know Tam, that none of us would ever do that to you. I know that I loved you from the minute you were born, and I've loved you ever since. And I can guarantee you that Harry, Ron, and Hermione feel the same way even though they've only known you for a few weeks. Don't ever be afraid that we don't accept you. Because we do."

Tamesis blushed slightly. He said he loved her! _But Tamesis,_ a voice in her mind intruded annoyingly, _he only loves you as a daughter, or cousin, or younger sister. After all, he did say_ since you were born._ That implies a fatherly sort of love. _Tamesis politely told that side of her head to shut up and instead focused on the fact that Sirius was still talking.

"So I was thinking we could end there for the DADA for tonight. After all, it was ridiculous." He smiled at his own pun. "Anyway, let's go over some of that Transfiguration theory."

"Well then, I think that's a wrap. Do you understand everything a bit better now?"

"Yeah. Thanks Sirius. You've been a really big help. Really. I'll see you tomorrow in class then."

"Bye Tammy."

Tamesis ran up to the Gryffindor tower as fast as she could. She usually loved hanging out with Sirius but lately . . . well lately ever since she'd realized she had that silly little crush everything normal they used to do now seemed awkward. Sirius didn't notice of course. He was oblivious as ever, never noticing how flustered she got whenever he leaned in close to help her wand movements on a spell, or how much she blushed when he gave her a compliment. She shook her head. Typical men. But there was another reason she wanted to get up to the dorm room quickly. Finally reaching the portrait of the fat lady and saying the password (it was boggart, fittingly enough,) and ran into the common room, searching for something, someone.

"Hey Tam. How was Sirius?" She turned to find herself looking into the soft green eyes of her brother and felt her eyes welling up with tears. With a small cry of, "Harry!" she threw herself into his arms and didn't let go.

Harry began awkwardly rubbing her back. "Um Tam? Are you okay? What happened? Did someone hurt you?"

She pulled back slightly. I'm fine. Really. It's just . . . I wanted you to know. I'm so happy you're my brother. I'm so happy I have you. Because without you I don't know where I'd be."

"I feel the same Tam but . . . what brought this all on? Are you sure something didn't happen?"

She nodded into his shoulder. "Yeah I just . . . I wanted you to know that I'm so glad we've got each other. That no matter what happens, we've got each other."

"Yeah. Yeah we've got each other. No matter what happens, we'll always have each other."

"Tamesis? Um Tamesis? You sort of have to get up now. Um Tammy, I know you had a long night and all, what with the magic lessons, but we're gonna be late to class. Tam, Harry and Ron are waiting for us downstairs, and Ron'll kill us if we cause him to be late to meeting the new History of Magic Professor.

"Let me handle this Granger, you're way to passive. Aguamenti!" Tamesis awoke, sputtering and gasping, to a jet of icy water hitting her squarely in the face, and the sound of girls laughing amongst themselves.

"Nice one Lavender," she heard a girl, (Patty? Priscilla?) say. Lavender simply smiled.

"I'm really sorry I had to wake you up like that Tamesis, but poor Granger here wasn't haven't much luck and you are going to be late. With that she and her posse flounced out the door.

Hermione looked sheepish. "I'm really sorry about that Tam. Lavender just sort of came up and before I could stop her she-"

"It's fine Hermione. Not your fault. At least I'm woken up. Now, let's get down to business. Wouldn't want Ron to give Professor Winters a bad impression.

Fifteen minutes later fourteen of which were spent on hair and makeup, Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Tamesis were all on their way to their first class of the day, History of Magic. Harry had taken it upon himself to inform her of all the pros and cons of the class, although it seemed so far that they were mostly cons.

"So people have really fallen asleep in the class? And they didn't get into trouble?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah. Binns just goes on talking. I reckon it'll be different this year though. New teacher and all." He stopped and thought. "I guess that just means it'll be harder to fall asleep without getting caught."

Tamesis laughed. She didn't know how less than twenty four hours ago she had fully believed that Harry didn't love her. Now everything seemed so perfect. Meanwhile, Ron and Hermione were arguing over whether the new professor was any good.

"But 'Mione! She's gorgeous!"

"That may be true Ronald, but it doesn't mean she's automatically a good teacher. We've been over this. I was rudely awakened back in second year, when Gilderoy Lockhart, who happened to be incredibly attractive by the way, turned out to be not only a moron, but a liar as well. The point is, don't judge a book by its cover. Because it could have very dull content indeed."

"Whatever Hermione. I still think she's great. And you'll see too, once you have a class with her."

"But Ron, you've never had a class with her either how are you supposed to- oh never mind."

They had reached the door to the classroom with minutes to spare. Upon entering they found four seats together, and sat down, immediately turning their attention to the young witch at the head of the room. Professor Winters was even more beautiful in person. Her shimmering golden waves of hair fell down to her back, and curled ever so slightly into ringlets at the end. Her blue eyes were so light they were like chips of ice in her perfect, pale face. Everything about her was perfect, from her tiny ski slope nose, to her perfectly unblemished skin and sparkling white smile.

"Hello class. My name is Professor Winters. As many of you have probably by now figured out, this is my first year teaching at Hogwarts. Now, I'd just like to begin with a brief introduction to the course. First of all, how many of you found History of Magic incredibly boring last year?" No one raised their hands.

"C'mon now, don't be shy. I know that I, for one, did. Professor Binns was around before I went here, when I went here, and evidently after I went here. And he made History of Magic _so_ boring. My goal for this year is not to just drone on and on about facts and data. My goal is to help make history fun for you. I want to hear your opinions. I want to see other points of view. And most of all, I certainly don't want to be seen as the boring teacher. So, let's begin.

"Oh. My. Goodness. You know Ron, for once you were right."

"Thank you. Wait a minute, hey! What do you mean for once?"

"As I was saying," Hermione continued, "Professor Winters is actually an amazing teacher. She really gets it you know? It's not just about one perspective, it's about many and that's how we really get a clear glance at history."

Harry grinned. "I won't be falling asleep in her class, that's for sure."

Tamesis smiled. "From what you kept telling me Harry, I expected it to be awful. It was actually really fun. She seems really nice. What do we have now?"

Harry glanced at his schedule and groaned. "Ugh. Double Potions. With the Slytherins. Double ugh. Although it won't be too bad for you Tamesis. Snape's practically in love with you."

Tamesis snorted. "That is not true. And even if it was, gross! He has, like, the greasiest hair ever. That man needs to learn about shampoo. Plus, he's all scary and stuff. Like always wearing black and hiding out in the dark in the dungeons and stuff."

"You don't find that endearing?"

"Ew! As if!"

Harry ducked out of her way as she attempted to pinch him.

"C'mon lil sis. We've got some potions to get to."

"Um, excuse me, in case you'd forgotten, we're twins Einstein."

"Yeah, but I asked Sirius and he said I was born ahead by five minutes. Therefore making you the younger one in this situation."

Tamesis scoffed. "Whatever. Let's just get to potions and hope that Snape merely hates us, instead of abhors."

_**A/N: Well there it is. I hope you liked it. I finally introduced Professor Winters in detail. Let me know if you like her. Plus, she's a pretty young teacher at Hogwarts, and people wouldn't find it weird for her to date another similarly aged young new teacher at Hogwarts. Hmmmm. Was that a spoiler? I don't know. You make of it what you want to.**_


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hey guys, just a quick question; I've been thinking about the once a week updates, and that seems like kind of long time to wait for a new chapter. However, if I do update more frequently, the chapters are going to be shorter in length. So just drop me a review or pm me letting me know whether you want shorter more frequent updates, or longer updates about once a week. I'll decide based on what the majority wants. Either way, a new chapter will be up soon. Thanks!**

**-aurevoirsim1**


	9. Chapter 9

_**A/N: I'd like to thank everyone who reviewed! You guys are amazing! Thanks to everyone who subscribed/favorited as well. Not many people answered the question as to whether they would like shorter (about 1000-1500 words) more frequently, (about every other day) or a longer update (around 2000-3000 words long) around once a week. If you have the time, please let me know. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter, and please review!**_

_**Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. I'm pretty sure that much is obvious.**_

"You are late Weasley, Granger, and Potters. Ten Points from Gryffindor."

"Sorry Professor."

"Just take your seats."

Tamesis, Harry, Ron and Hermione silently filed in, finding seats relatively near the back. In reality, they actually weren't all that late, about thirty seconds or so, but with Snape they were lucky to only be losing ten points.

Tamesis plopped down in the seat next to Harry and turned her attention to the board. According to what was written, they would be making a 'simple shrinking solution'.

"Snape must be really off his game," Harry whispered.

"Why?"

"First of all, he only took away ten points. Second of all, he's making us brew a shrinking solution. We already did that in fourth year. Don't let him know though. There's no telling what he'd make us do then."

"Oh."

"Is there something you'd like to share with us Potters?" Snape hissed angrily.

Tamesis and Harry shook their heads meekly. "No Professor."

"Then kindly pay attention. Now, as you can see from looking at the board, today you will be making a shrinking solution. Seeing as this is an easy potion to brew, I expect it to be of a much higher caliber than your usual work. Well? What are you waiting for? Get to work!"

Tamesis turned to Harry. "Do you want me to prep the ingredients?"

Harry shook his head. "Nah, it's fine, I'll take care of them. You can start getting the cauldron ready."

"Okay."

She became so engaged in her task that she failed to notice the figure clad all in black until he was right behind her.

"You seem to have quite the knack for potions Ms. Potter."

Tamesis started in her seat slightly. "Oh. Professor. I didn't see you there. And thanks. For the compliment I mean. I guess it's sort of like chemistry. And I was pretty good at that in school."

Snape nodded. "Not surprising. Your mother had quite the talent for this as well."

Tamesis swallowed. "You knew my mum then? When she was alive?"

"Yes, I- we knew each other yes." Snape seemed slightly uncomfortable with the subject, and Tamesis wished she hadn't brought it up.

He cleared his throat gruffly. "Well then. You should be getting back to work Ms. Potter. I fully expect a perfect shrinking solution by the end of the period." With that being said, Snape promptly turned around and headed off to berate some other poor soul.

Harry sat back down next to his sister. "What was that all about?"

Tamesis shrugged, genuinely confused. "I don't know. He said that I was good at potions. Like . . . like our mum. Did you know that he knew her?"

Harry shook his head. "No. I knew that he knew our dad but mum . . . I never knew that."

The auburn haired witch shrugged once again. "I don't know what to make of it. Still, I don't particularly feel like getting a detention tonight, so I suggest that we get to work."

Time passed quickly. Before she knew it, Snape was once again coming over to their table to check on Harry's and her potion.

Dipping a dropper into the cauldron, he gently squeezed one bead of the potion onto a quill. Both Tamesis and Harry waited with bated breath for something, anything, to happen to the quill.

Finally, with a small quiver and pop, the quill shrunk to about the size of Tamesis' pinky. Both the Potter twins let out sighs of relief.

Snape nodded slowly. "Good. I'm glad you can make an adequate version of an incredibly uncomplicated potion."

Harry waited until Snape had walked a considerable amount away, and then began to sneer. "Yeah, thanks for that backhanded comment. Git."

Tamesis' eyes widened. "Harry! You really shouldn't talk that way about a professor!"

"Whatever," Harry snorted. "It doesn't stop him from being one."

Tamesis shook her head. "Let's just leave. We have Defense Against the Dark Arts next, and with Umbridge conducting today's class, you don't want to be late."

Despite the fact that she had just told Harry to hurry up, Tam took her time packing he bag, putting each book away carefully into her bag. She wasn't in any hurry to head off to DADA. The Umbridge woman seemed slightly psychotic, and Tam wasn't exactly looking forward to spending the next hour in a class that she was conducting.

For about the fifth time that day she wished that Sirius were leading the class. She loved Sirius. He was funny, kind, and a great teacher too. _At least you'll get to see him tonight_, she consoled herself. Those nightly tutoring sessions would be her only solace during those days when Umbridge got to lead a class.

"C'mon Tam!" Harry urged, breaking Tamesis out of her reverie. Placing the last book and quill into her bag, she headed out the door and up the stairs to the DADA room.

By the time they reached the classroom, all four teenagers were out of breath and had about a minute to spare.

"Psst. Tam Tam. Psst. Over here."

Tamesis turned her head to find Sirius sitting in a chair towards the back of the room.

"What's going on?" she asked. "I thought that you were the teacher. Shouldn't you be in the front of the room? At the teacher's desk? Where the teacher usually sits?"

Sirius shook his head. "I was kind of under that impression too. That is until Umbridge politely asked me to sit at the back while she conducted her lesson today. She wanted everyone to be focused on her."

"That's insane," Tamesis whispered. "She's a crazy woman. She's almost as bad as Mrs. Mortimer."

Sirius smirked. "I know. Come sit back here with me. Trust me, you don't want to be up front near her."

Tam laughed. "'Kay."

"Excuse me! Class! Please come to order."

Tamesis turned away from Sirius to see Umbridge herself standing at the front of the room. She was certainly a . . . strange woman. Up close, she was even uglier than Tam had first observed. She had a wide, flat face that gave her very much the illusion of a toad. That combined with her short squat stature and small stubby hands only helped to complete the toad-like image.

Along with the squashed toad face, Dolores Umbridge had also chosen to dress herself in pale fuchsia robes, which only caused her ruddy rosy complexion to seem even pinker.

She completed the ensemble with a small magenta bow atop her large pile of mousey brown hair, all in all making her appear to be a very scary, very short, very pink toad. However, Tamesis would never admit this. The last thing she needed was the scary toad lady angry with her.

Umbridge smiled a sickly sweet smile. "Now class. Please put away your wands. You won't be needing them today. Instead, I'd appreciate it if you would take out your DADA textbooks and turn to chapter one. Once you have done this, please read the entire chapter."

Slightly confused, Tamesis put away her wand, and took out her book. Still, it didn't seem right that they wouldn't be doing wand work in a defensive class.

Raising her hand, she waited until Umbridge noticed her.

"Yes Ms . . .?"

There was that sickly smile again. "Ms. Potter ma'am. I was just wondering . . . if this is a defensive class, why are we not learning spells with our wands?"

If anything, toad lady's smile got sicklier. "We believe at the ministry that it is no longer necessary to learn defensive spells with your wands. It is perfectly easy to simply learn the theory from a book, and you will be completely prepared for the outside world when the time comes. As a result, on his teaching days, Mr. Black will now be teaching you just theoretical magic"

Tamesis frowned. "But ma'am, and believe me I mean no disrespect by saying this, but it's sort of necessary to have some sort of practice for the outside world. I mean what about if we leave Hogwarts and Volde-"

Umbridge's smile twitched. "Ms. Potter. I assure you that there would be no need for you to practice defensive spells in school because there is no You Know Who to use them against."

"You mean Voldemort?"

"Yes," Umbridge hissed.

"But he's back ma'am. My brother fought him. He's back now, and he killed Cedric Diggory, and if we don't learn these spells first hand-"

"Ms Potter!" Umbridge really seemed to be losing it now. "The death of Mr. Diggory was an accident. A tragic accident. As for You Know Who having returned, that is poppycock. Obviously you and Mr. Potter are very confused about what went on that night. I can assure you that you are wrong."

Tamesis felt her temper beginning to rise. As if being able to see it, Sirius tugged gently on her arm. "Hey Tam Tam. Let it go. It's fine. We know the truth. Don't push it."

Tamesis ignored him. "With all due respect Professor, _Voldemort is_ back, and we're going to need to know how to fight him. The death of Cedric Diggory was not an accident! It's an insult to his memory to imply that it was! He was murdered! And you're sitting here, trying to pretend that none of it happened, that everything's fine, and it's not! And if you don't teach us these things, once we leave Hogwarts, it'll be like you sending us as lambs off to slaughter!"

"Ms Potter! You are completely out of line! I-"

"No! You're completely out of line! How dare you suggest that my brother is a liar! How dare you even pretend to know what's going on! You are possibly the most ignorant woman I've ever had the misfortune of meeting!"

Umbridge looked as though she was about to blow. Then, she took a deep breath and smiled. Reaching down to her desk, she took out a small pink slip of paper and wrote something down on it.

"Come here Ms. Potter. Don't be nervous. Come here."

Tamesis hesitantly walked forward.

Umbridge's smile got wider. "Now Ms. Potter. I'd like you to just take this to Professor McGonagall. Can you do that for me?"

Tamesis nodded silently.

"Thank you."

With that, Tamesis turned around and walked out the door.


	10. Chapter 10

_**A/N: What? An update? What is this insanity? I know, I know, I haven't updated in a while, and I have a laundry list of excuses I could give you, but choose not to bore you by doing so. Anyway, I know I've kind of been focusing on my other story more just because it seems more popular than this one. Not that I'm upset with the amount of reviews for this one or anything. I really appreciate them. I just kind of got into a groove with the other one, as well as barely had any time to write. Bad combination to say the least. Anyway, I'm back now and I tried to make up for it with a super long chapter. Also, just a quick note. I was sort of reading over my writing for this chapter, and decided the third person was making it really sound awful, so I switched to first person. In this chapter it will be told from Tamesis' point of view. I don't know if this is a regular thing yet, so let me know what you think. Very quickly, thank you to everyone who favorited/subscribed/reviewed! Don't think I don't appreciate it, because I totally do. You guys are incredible. Seriously, making my day every time. **_

"Ms. Potter, this is a surprise. Well, come in, come in, don't just keep standing there." I swallowed the lump in my throat. It had been all well and good when I'd been fighting with the psychopathic ministry official from hell, but now that I was standing in front of McGonagall with that tiny pink slip, my courage and bravado seemed to slip away just as easily and they'd come. Professor McGonagall was an imposing woman, and already by the first week of school I knew not to get on her bad side. This was one lady you definitely didn't want to mess with.

"Come now Ms. Potter. No need to be timid. Come in. Have a biscuit," McGonagall said, holding out a red tin full of the cookies.

I shook my head. This was one of those times where I was definitely too nervous to eat. "No thank you Professor. I'm really not that hungry." McGonagall placed the tin behind her.

Holding out the pink sheet to McGonagall, I closed my eyes and began to pray slightly, waiting for the inevitable explosion of anger and disapproval from the professor.

McGonagall sighed. "Oh Ms. Potter. Surely you're well aware by now that Professor Umbridge is not a person you should be messing with. You heard her speech at the feast, did you not?"

I blinked slightly in surprise. McGonagall wasn't angry? "Um, yeah. I mean, yeah I heard it. She's trying to control Hogwarts."

McGonagall held out the tin again. "Please," she intoned, "have a biscuit."

I swallowed again. Could this lady not take a hint? "No thank you. I'm really not very hungry."

McGonagall pushed the tin further towards me. "Please. I insist."

Tired and not really in the mood to argue with or antagonize her, I quickly grabbed the biscuit closest to the top, (a jammie dodger) and bit into it, sending crumbs flying all over my robes. Surprisingly, it was actually pretty good.

McGonagall smiled wearily. "Just think about it the next time she tries goading you. Professor Umbridge is not someone to mess with, she is not someone who will be swayed from her opinions, and she will do whatever she can to stay in control. Remember that. You'll be meeting her for detention every night this week."

I nodded. Honestly, I hadn't been expecting anything less. Still, I kind of wished now that I'd thought a bit more before acting.

McGonagall began shuffling papers on her desk. "You may go, Ms. Potter. I suggest you do not return to class, and go straight to your next period when it starts."

"What were you thinking? You know that Umbridge isn't someone to mess with. Geez Tam, do you have a death wish or something?"

"Look Sirius, I already said I was sorry. It's not like I wasn't right. She's completely bonkers. I don't think I'll be able to last a week with her, let alone a year."

Sirius pounded his fist on the table. "But don't you get it Tam?" he hissed. "She has power. She can get people to do things for her, to take you away, to hurt you. I know she comes off as this kind of psychotic aunt or something, but she's a lot more dangerous."

I gathered up my books. "Thanks for the study session Professor Black, but I really do have a detention to be getting to." With that, I stormed out of the room before he could see my tears. It wasn't exactly my best exit ever but . . . ah well. I hated fighting with Sirius. It was bad enough that I'd barely been at school a week and already was in trouble, but now my best friend, confidant, as well as major crush, was mad at me. The one person I thought I could rely on.

Okay, so his anger wasn't exactly irrational. Umbridge was obviously slightly unhinged, therefore making it not exactly the best decision to antagonize her. Knowing her, she would probably take everything she'd heard straight to the ministry. But still, I couldn't let some evil . . . *cough*, person with way too much power completely deny what my brother was saying.

Sighing, I blew my messy red hair out of my eyes, and began the trek over to Umbridge's office. Of course it wasn't enough that I was already spending three hours every night doing extra studying, but now I had to spend another two hours with the deranged psychopath. Yay.

Finally reaching the office, I drew a deep breath and knocked.

"Come in!"

Opening the door I wanted to groan. It was . . . hideous. I didn't know what the office had looked like before Umbridge came, but I sure as hell knew that nothing could look worse than what I was seeing now.

Everything was pink. The walls, oversized armchairs, carpet. There was nothing in that garishly decorated room wasn't pink. That is, except for the kittens. Yes, kittens. The walls were covered with them. Tiny pink frames of kittens. It was . . . sickening. I swallowed.

Umbridge herself was sitting at her desk, covered with kittens of course, in picture frames, a coffee mug, and was smiling sweetly. If I didn't know any better, I'd say that the toad-like woman was happy to see me. Of course, I wasn't stupid.

"Ms. Potter," she said, gesturing to a chair. "Do sit down. Go on." I sat down awkwardly in the pink armchair provided. It didn't help matters that I despised pink.

"Now, Ms. Potter," Umbridge continued, "tonight you will be writing lines." Seeing me beginning to rummage around in my bag, she held up a hand. "No, no Ms. Potter. You won't be needing a quill tonight. You may use one of mine."

Umbridge held out a quill and piece of parchment expectantly. Grabbing it, I inspected it completely. Knowing The Toad, there was more to this than just writing lines.

I raised an eyebrow, skeptical. "Won't I need ink Professor?"

Umbridge smiled and I swore I heard the toad-like woman giggle. "Oh, don't worry. This is a very . . . special quill."

"Well then what do I need to write?"

Umbridge's eyes gleamed. "You will be writing 'I will not tell lies'. As long as I need you to."

Rolling her eyes, I set to work. Oh no. Lines. I'm shaking in my boots. Really. That's certainly a diabolical punishment. I wonder where she thought up that one.

As soon as I began writing the 'I', I felt a sharp twinge in my hand.

Glancing down, I saw a small line appearing in my hand. Glancing at the paper I realized what was going on. _Umbridge__was__forcing__me__to__write__these__sentences__in__my__own__blood._ I swallowed as I felt my stomach threatening to come up convulsively. Talk about sick and twisted. This woman was certifiably insane.

Completely repulsed I glanced quickly at the smug, troll-like woman. Umbridge was positively beaming with smugness. I decided I wouldn't give her the satisfaction of seeing me quit.

Gritting my teeth, I picked up the quill and began writing out the sentences.

About an hour into the detention, I really began to feel it. Each stroke of the quill brought on yet another sharp, stinging twinge in my hand, which by now was quite red, raw and bleeding slightly. Still, I refused to back down. It was a slightly passive aggressive action, to be sure, yet it was the only hope I had of not getting completely bulldozed by that neurotic pyscho.

Umbridge coughed. "Hem, hem. Well then. I'm hoping you learned your lesson Ms. Potter. Now, I suggest you get to bed. I'll be seeing you first thing in the morning tomorrow in class."

Deciding not to dignify that little dig with a response, I stonily finished gathering up my stuff, and stalked out the door.

Once I was out of that hideous office and out of Umbridge's sight, I finally took the time to assess the damage done to my hand.

Etched in the once pale smooth skin was now the sentence, _I__will__not__tell__lies_. It had been cut into my hand so many times that the skin was now bleeding profusely, and I was almost positive it would leave a scar. Bitch. I'd kind of liked having a nice, normal, non-marred hand, and I was pretty sure that wasn't exactly a possibility anymore.

Breathing deeply, I decided I would go to the bathroom and splash a little cold water on it. Somehow, cold water always seemed to help any situation. However, there was no way I was going to Madam Pomfrey. It seemed that that was exactly what Umbridge wanted, for me to go crying to a professor, to admit weakness, and Snape would be cheery before I ever let her win.

Shaking the hand rapidly as if to get rid of the pain, I began to make my way quickly down the hallway. I was only a few feet away from the entrance to the bathroom. If I could just make it those last few steps I would be safe, no one would see me, and-

"Tamesis?"

Feeling dread beginning to form in the pit of my stomach, I stopped dead in my tracks. Turning around, I came face to face with the one and only Sirius Black.

Quickly pulling down the sleeve of my robe over the bloody hand, (the left one), I smiled. "Oh, hey Sirius. Didn't see you there." _Why__did__you__have__to__be__here__now?_

Sirius brushed back his hair, making it look even more disheveled and furthermore intensifying his cuteness.

"Hey Tam. How was your detention?"

I shrugged, not wanting to let him catch on to the fact that it hadn't been all cupcakes and sunshine. Sirius tended to be a bit overprotective at times, and I didn't particularly feel like making him worry further.

"It was fine. Umbridge is a bitch, but what can you do?"

Sirius smiled. "I just wanted to say, I'm sorry about earlier. I yelled at you, and you really didn't deserve it. I just . . . I get really worried about you. I already lost your mum and dad, I can't lose you too."

My face flushed bright red. He cared about me. Albeit still in a you're-sort-of-like-a-younger-sister-to-me way, but still.

Completely forgetting about my hand, I flung my arms around Sirius and buried my face into his chest, breathing deeply. Gingerly, he wrapped his arms around me as well.

I could barely breath. Sirius Black was hugging me. I was in heaven.

"What's that?"

I stiffened. Sirius had caught sight of my hand. In my haste, I'd forgotten to continue hiding it.

Quickly ducking it under the sleeve of my robe I backed away out of the hug. "Nothing," I mumbled quickly. Pulling away more, I started briskly walking. "Listen Sirius, I've gotta go."

Sirius placed a hand on my arm. "What happened to your hand Tamesis? Tell me. Please."

Resignedly, I held out my arm, pushing back the sleeve of my too long robe. Sirius immediately grew furious.

"Who did this to you? Tamesis?" I didn't answer.

"Tamesis! Tell me who did this to you now! They can't just get away with that!" Seeing me flinch he calmed down a bit.

"Please Tam. Just tell me. You can trust me. You know that. Please."

"It was Umbridge, alright? Some kind of sick, twisted punishment. She's probably hoping that it'll make me shut up from now on."

"Tam? What were you thinking? You can't just let her do this to you."

"I know I just . . . if I told a teacher or something, she would win. She wanted me to give in, to show weakness."

He tucked a stray piece of hair behind my ear. "That's not necessarily a bad thing Tamesis. You don't always have to be strong. Especially if someone's hurting you. You won't be losing. You'll be doing the right thing."

"Thanks."

Sirius smiled. "No problem Tam. I won't tell this time. But come on, the least I can do it fix your hand. I'm no healer, but I do know a thing or two about remedial spells."

"There. Does that feel better?"

"Yeah, thanks." Sirius finished bandaging my hand by pulling the cloth tightly, taping it, and then cutting off the end. Already the stinging sensation in my hand was starting to recede. I don't know where he learned it, but Sirius had certainly surprised me tonight. First, he'd gently washed my hand with cool water, and then had let it soak in some potion thing that felt absolutely amazing on my raw and tender flesh.

"Where did you learn that stuff?" I asked.

Sirius smirked. "Wouldn't you like to know. Maybe I'll tell you one day. Maybe not."

I stuck my tongue out at him.

"Thanks a lot. I'm so glad we have that kind of friendship."

He winked. "Hold on, I'm just gonna get some tea. Do you like sugar in yours? Milk? Cream?"

"Plain is fine," I told him.

"Alright. Hold on, I'll be right back."

Sirius returned a few moments later holding two steaming mugs of tea. Setting one on the table in front of me, he sat down in the armchair opposite to mine.

"So Tam. What was this detention like?"

I shrugged, not really wanting to go into any more detail than I needed to.

"It wasn't that bad I guess. She made me write lines, but the pen used my blood instead of ink."

I could see him starting to tense up again, so I decided to change the subject.

"So. How are you liking being a teacher at Hogwarts so far? Is it everything you hoped it'd be?"

Sirius relaxed a bit. "Everything and more. The best part is; I get to be the one giving out the detentions now. You wouldn't believe how many I got when I was your age. Your dad and me. We were real pranksters, he and I. You sort of take after him in that respect."

Seeing my slight frown, he was quick to correct himself. "Not that you're a trouble maker. Not that in the least. It's just . . . I don't know. Even though you look like Lily you just sort of remind me of him I guess. He was so proud and stubborn sometimes. Just like you," he said pointedly.

"And he was incredibly cunning. He thought up some of our best pranks."

Sirius never opened up about my parents. I figured now was as good a time as any to try and get him to spill.

"Tell me about my parents," I whispered. "Please."

Sirius sighed. "Well, where to begin? Lily was amazing. She was so beautiful, and cunning, and brave, and smart. A real firecracker that one. She wasn't afraid to stand up for herself. But she was more . . . reserved than James. Softer. Quieter. Kinder. James was the loud one. He was the one who could got a whole room laughing; he was always the life of the party. He was smart too, don't get me wrong, but he used his intelligence in a different way. He was the best person at pranking during our time at Hogwarts. Probably the best this school had ever seen. He was my best friend."

"No," Sirius corrected himself, "he was more than a friend. He was my brother."

I felt myself getting teary eyed. I wished so badly that I could've known these people. That I could've met them at least once. But now I never would. Seeing my sadness Sirius instantly grew contrite.

"Oh Tam, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean to make you sad. Here, we can talk about something else."

Without giving me a chance to speak, he pulled me into a bone-crushing hug. I hugged him back, as hard as I could, needing to feel the warmth of him, the safeness and security I always felt when he was around.

Breathing deeply, I took in his smell, that wonderfully unique Sirius smell, a mixture of exotic spices, cigar smoke (I don't know seeing as I knew he hadn't smoked in at least twenty years) and something else, indefinable just him.

It took me a few moments to realize that this hug was lasting longer than it was supposed to. Sirius still clung to me, as I buried my face in his hair. Moments turned into seconds, and slowly the hug went from a quick show of emotion to something that felt like a whole lot more to me.

I shifted. Finally seeming to realize that he was still holding me, Sirius stepped back. I could've kicked myself. I'd completely ruined the moment. As usual. Story of my life.

He shifted, eyes down. "You should really be getting to bed Tam. I hadn't realized how late it was. Come on, I'll walk you back to the common room."

Lying in my bed that night, all I could do was think of that hug. Sirius had definitely held on too long. Was it possible that he maybe felt the slightest bit of something for me? More than just a friend that is. Resigning myself to the fact that no, that could never be true, I decided to focus on getting some sleep. Just as I was about to doze off, I heard a strange scratching noise at the door. Wondering who the heck would be trying to get into the dorm at this time of night, and not wanting it to wake up the other girls (I didn't really at all feel like dealing with Lavender Brown right now,) I threw on my slippers and padded over to the door.

Throwing open the door, I looked around for who was there, in my half asleep state kind of thinking it might be murder. What I saw, however, was not a murder. Sitting by the threshold of the dorm was none other than Blackie the dog.


	11. Update on the Status of This Story

A/N: Hello everyone! I recently looked back on this story and wasn't super happy with it. I definitely think it could be much better. So, I've decided to discontinue "The Story of Tamesis Potter" in favor of changing a lot and reposting the greatly revised version under a different name. A few things are changing in the new version; I've changed Tamesis's name to Violet, she lives with actual parents instead of in an orphanage, she's two years older than Harry, and she comes to Hogwarts in Harry's third year. Anyway, if you liked this story, I hope you'll consider checking out the revamped version. I've just posted the first chapter, the story's called "Wild is the Wind."

-Au Revoir Sim1


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